Maltese crewmen held in Tripoli to return this evening

Three Maltese crewmen aboard the M/V Azzurra will be leaving Tripoli later on this evening at around 5pm to head back to Malta.

As the saga of the arrest of the Moldovan-flagged Azzurra enters its thirteenth day, only three Maltese nationals out of the five Maltese nationals aboard the ship will return. The other two, a chef and a driver, will stay on board until the ship depart Tripoli port, according to the ship's skipper Ender Attila who spoke to MaltaToday.

Another Maltese crewman who spoke to MaltaToday said the Azzurra was being held in Tripoli on suspicions of smuggling, after it had been sailing the Malta-Tripoli route since November.

"They think we are smuggling alcohol, which is not true. There is nothing in their law which stipulates that alcohol cannot be sold... they just cannot drink it. Moreover, it is the Libyans who order the cargo and our job is to deliver it, and all cargo goes through customs," the crewman - who has insisted on staying anonymous - said.

It was only in the past days that the Maltese nationals were handed their passports by the Libyan ticketing agent. "The agent just left us hanging here for five days with returning any sort of communication," the Maltese crewman said.

As days passed since the arrest of the Azzurra two weeks ago, water and food supplies, including bread, started to run out: "It was only today that one of our Libyan crewmembers was allowed to go down and buy supplies... actually we can't understand why because he had been allowed to disembark before."

The Maltese-chartered passenger and cargo ferry has been held in Tripoli harbour, ostensibly by authorities acting on reports by Libyan business giants Husni Bey Group, who have claimed the ship is carrying smuggled goods.

MaltaToday broke the news last Thursday, which prompted government to intervene and seek the release of the Maltese-chartered ship - but the impasse appears unresolved.

Turkish skipper Ender Atilla insisted with MaltaToday that his ship would never be involved in any matters "which could hurt Libya".

"There were moments during the Libyan uprising when we were the only ship to help with the humanitarian evacuations. We were not afraid to enter the port and help the Libyans ... we transported medicines, food and water supplies ... there were times when the ship turned into a hospital. We carried the injured from Tripoli to Malta. Why treat us like this now?" Attila said.

Since November the Azzurra has done 20 trips.

"There used to be problems, but very small," Attila said. "Libyan shore securities used to come on board and speak with the security on board. But this time security from the city came and took the captain and me to the city for interrogation."

During the interrogation, which lasted around eight hours, the two men were questioned about the cargo. "They were insisting we were smuggling goods ... we say one thing but they say another. At the end they let us go and things have improved a little now."

Atilla believes that the real issue behind the 'arrest' is "competition and conflict of interest."

READ MORE Malta-Libya 'trade war' leads to arrest of M/V Azzurra