- Malta keeps ignoring calls from vessels in distress and hindering rescue operations. On April 11, the Italian Coast Guard rescued a vessel in distress with around 400 migrants onboard that that had departed from Libya and had been adrift between Italy and Malta for two days. According to Sea-Watch and AlarmPhone, Maltese authorities had ordered a merchant ship in the proximity of the vessel not to rescue the people onboard. On April 7, MSF disembarked in Brindisi (Italy) 440 people that had been spotted in distress in international waters off Malta. On April 16, two boats in distresswere signalled by AlarmPhone in Malta’s SAR zone. Both were rescued by merchant vessels, that Malta ordered to intervene only after several hours.
