Italian fishing boat seized by armed men off Libyan coast

[EC]

MILAN (AP) — A Sicilian fishing cooperative says a boat with seven crew members has been taken by armed men 40 miles (65 kilometers) off Libya, and was being brought to the Libyan port of Misurata.

Cooperative spokesman Francesco Mezzapelle said port authorities were alerted early Friday by another Italian fishing boat in the area, and that the cooperative president was in touch with both Libyan authorities and the Italian foreign ministry. Mezzapelle said the armed men did not appear to be from the Libyan military.

The crew members were three Sicilians and four Tunisians. There were no reports of injuries.

Mezzapelle says there have been a dozen such seizures since 2005 when Libya asserted that its territorial waters extended more than 70 miles off shore — well beyond international agreements.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f166125989b143b3b5431d8a7017aed4/italian-fishing-boat-seized-armed-men-libyan-coast

[EC]

The Associated Press ‏@AP 1m1 minute ago

BREAKING: Italian navy says it has taken control of fishing boat seized by armed men off Libya

[rangerrebew]

Italian fishing boat seized by Libyan forces

Vessel has seven sailors aboard

17 April, 12:14

 

(ANSAmed) - MAZARA DEL VALLO, APRIL 17 - An Italian fishing boat was seized by Libyan armed forces in the early hours of Friday some 30 miles from the Libyan coast, according to Giovanni Tumbiolo, the president of a Sicilian branch of fishing association COSVAP. The vessel had seven sailors aboard, three Italians from Sicily and four Tunisians. "The state of alarm has been at the maximum level since the Italian embassy (in Libya) was closed," said Tumbiolo, who added that he had contacted the Libyan agriculture and fisheries minister. "We are worried but at the same time hopeful, because the Libyan people have always been close to the Sicilians".

 According to initial reports, one Libyan soldier boarded the boat, the Mazara del Vallo-based Airone, and it then headed to the port of Misrata.(ANSAmed).

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2015/04/17/italian-fishing-boat-seized-by-libyan-forces_27293ad0-ac0d-417a-8d79-1b9c427358a4.html