Tobruk News

Survivors of a boat disaster that likely killed hundreds of migrants near Greece have given accounts of traffickers in North Africa cramming them into a clapped-out fishing trawler. They recounted hellish conditions above and below deck, with no food or water.Some also said the tragic end, when it came, was precipitated by the actions of the Greek coastguard. They have told judicial authorities of a doomed attempt to tow the overloaded trawler that caused the vessel to capsize…

Rescuers scoured seas off Greece on Thursday in a massive search operation, as hopes dwindled of finding survivors of a shipwreck that killed at least 78 migrants in one of Europe's deadliest such disasters in recent years.Reports suggested hundreds of people had packed the fishing boat that capsized and sank early on Wednesday in deep waters about 50 miles (80 km) from the southern coastal town of Pylos, while being shadowed by the Greek coast guard. As dawn broke on Thursday, a coast guard vessel sailed into the nearby port city of Kalamata, transferring victims.

The Italian coast guard is carrying out operations to rescue two boats carrying a total of 1,200 people, it said on Monday, after a surge in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend. One of the boats, which is carrying 400 people and is in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Calabria, southern Italy, had previously been sighted in Maltese waters. Earlier on Monday, German NGO Sea-Watch International, which had located the fishing boat with one of its planes…

The Italian coastguard is carrying out operations to rescue two boats carrying a total of 1,200 people, it said on Monday, after a surge in the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa over the weekend.One of the boats, which is carrying 400 people and is in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Calabria, southern Italy, had previously been sighted in Maltese waters.Earlier on Monday, German NGO Sea-Watch International, which had located the fishing boat with one of its planes, said one merchant ship in the area had supplied fuel and water to the boat in distress, but Maltese

Libya's Petroleum Facilities Guards have stopped blockading the port of Hariga at Tobruk after being paid, they said in a video statement on Wednesday whose authenticity was confirmed by a guards member.The stoppage at Hariga began last month and contributed to a decline in Libyan oil output, a Libyan oil source said this week.(Reporting by Ayman al-Warfali, writing by Angus McDowall; editing by Grant McCool)

The submarine Romeo Romei was delivered at Fincantieri’s shipyard of Muggiano, La Spezia. It is the last of the four U212A Todaro class twin units ordered from Fincantieri by the Naval Armament Unit – NAVARM for the Italian Navy. Romeo Romei, as its twin unit Pietro Venuti delivered last July at the Muggiano shipyard, features highly innovative technological solutions. It is entirely built with amagnetic material, using the most modern silencing techniques to reduce its acoustic signature.

The head of Europe's police agency said it would "look again" at the largest migrant shipwreck in the Mediterranean this year after an investigation by Reuters and BBC Newsnight exposed a gap in the response by law enforcement. The Reuters investigation into an incident on April 9, in which an estimated 500 people drowned, raised "uncomfortable" issues, Wainwright said. It found that no official body, national or international, has held anyone to account for the deaths or even opened an inquiry into the shipwreck. Only 37 people survived when an Egyptian trawler capsized as its crew of smugglers loaded more migrants on board from a smaller feeder boat.

A record number of migrants have reached Italy by boat from North Africa in 2016, according to official data, as pressure on Italy's shelter and asylum systems grows. Italy has borne the brunt of new arrivals since the implementation in March of an agreement between the European Union and Turkey to curb the flow of migrants sailing for Greece. As of Nov. 28, 171,299 boat migrants had reached Italy's shores, the Interior Ministry said, compared to the previous record of 170,100 for all of 2014. There is no sign of a let-up in people crossing. Some 1,400 more migrants were rescued from rubber and wooden boats attempting to cross the central Mediterranean during Monday, Italy's coast guard said. In the past three years, Italy has recorded nearly half a million migrant arrivals.

Decommissioned Australian naval vessels ex-HMA Ships Tobruk and Sydney,will be offered for the creation of dive wrecks, announced Defense Minister Senator Marise Payne. After decades of invaluable service in the Royal Australian Navy, Tobruk and Sydney were decommissioned in July 2015 and November 2015 respectively. Tobruk was used extensively during regional peacekeeping and humanitarian operations as well as border protection in Northern Australia. Sydney was deployed to the Persian Gulf on five occasions in support of operations during the Gulf War…

1910 - USS Michigan, the first U.S. dreadnought battleship, is commissioned. 1943 - USS Shad (SS 235) sinks German minesweeper M 4242 (ex-French trawler Odet II) in the Bay of Biscay. 1944 - USS Bluefish (SS 222) and USS Rasher (SS 269) attack a Japanese convoy off French Indochina; Bluefish sinks a merchant tanker while Rasher damages another tanker. Also on this date USS Cabrilla (SS 288) sinks a Japanese freighter off Cape Padran, French Indochina while USS Tautog (SS 109) sinks a Japanese freighter off southern Honshu. 1945 - During attacks against the U.S.

Greek authorities have seized a freighter carrying an undeclared shipment of weapons en route from Turkey to Libya, coast guard officials said on Wednesday. A coast guard patrol boat raided the vessel on Tuesday, 20 nautical miles northeast of Crete. The freighter, with a crew of seven and which had sailed from the Turkish port of Iskenderun, was escorted to Heraklion port on the island. The United Nations has imposed an embargo on weapons shipments to Libya, which is plagued by factional conflict. "The ship's crew is being questioned and the content of its containers will be checked," a coast guard official said, declining to be named. The coast guard provided no further details of what kind of arms the freighter had on board, or its ownership.

The Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove, AK, MC (Retd), together with the Assistant Minister for Defence Stuart Robert, MP, and Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, AO, CSC, RAN, today attended the decommissioning of HMAS Tobruk to bid the ship a fond farewell in Sydney. “In a time-honoured tradition, the Australian White Ensign was lowered for the last time and handed to Commanding Officer, Commander Leif Maxfield,” Mr Robert said. Tobruk provided sterling service and contributed to operations in Somalia, East Timor and the Solomon Islands, and conducted extensive work both in Australia and around the South West Pacific. “She has been the workhorse of the Fleet,” Mr Robert said.

Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett, AO, CSC, RAN, was joined at HMAS Cairns today by his Philippine counterpart, Flag Officer in Command Philippine Navy, Vice Admiral Jesus Millan, at a ceremony to gift two decommissioned Australian Balikpapan class landing craft to the Government of the Philippines. Super Typhoon Haiyan caused significant devastation to the Philippines in November 2013 and approximately 500 Australian Defence Force personnel, including the crew of HMAS Tobruk and a deployment of Army Engineers, provided in-country support to the relief effort, at the request of the Philippines Government. “The relief effort highlighted the importance of regional sea lift options due to numerous airfields being inaccessible and land infrastructure impassable…

The restructuring of port facilities in Libya will only take place when a unity government is in place, says British maritime security company MAST. “UN sponsored unity government negotiations appear to have stalled for now, with the Tripoli government withdrawing from the talks,” said Gerry Northwood OBE, COO of MAST. “These talks will be partly driven by the common interest in fighting ISIL, but achieving the level of agreement required to form a unity government is unlikely in the near term,” Northwood added. Northwood noted that it has been reported that the National Oil Company (NOC) has lifted the force majeure declared in December 2014 at Ras Lanuf Oil Terminal on the Gulf of Sidre. Once operational the facility could increase Libya’s oil exports by up to 300,000 bpd.

HMAS Tobruk (II) sailed through Sydney Heads back to her home port at Garden Island for the last time today. The amphibious heavy lift is scheduled to decommission on Friday 31 July, after 34 years of service in the Royal Australian Navy. Commanding Officer Tobruk Commander Leif Maxfield said the final passage was an emotional time for the ship’s company of 167. “Today signifies that the end of the ship's seagoing life is near,” CMDR Maxfield said. “The people who have served on Tobruk over the years have performed admirably, responding to the call of duty, whenever tasked by Government to do so. Both current and former ship’s crews have absolutely lived up to the motto of the ship, Faithful and Strong.

A fighter jet operated by Libya's military force backed attacked an oil tanker that was about to anchor in the northern city of Sirte, reports local media. Lt Gen. Saqr al-Garrouchi, the commander of Libya's Tobruk parliament and government-backed air force, said the jet attacked the oil tanker after its crew refused to respond to warnings against entering the maritime border of the northern city. "The ship now is on fire. We are at war and we do not accept any security breaches whether by land air or sea" Garrouchi added. The General Electricity Company denounced as "sabotage" the attack at the plant near Sirte, in central Libya, saying it was likely to cause disruptions to power supplies across the country due to a lack of fuel.

Forces loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government said on Monday they shelled a Turkish ship off the Libyan coast after it was warned not to approach, and one crew member was killed in what Turkey described as a "contemptible attack". Libya is in a state of violent factional chaos with two rival governments backed by various armed groups vying for control of the oil-producing North African state including its ports, four years after rebels overthrew Muammar Gaddafi. The dry cargo ship was targeted about 10 miles from the coast on Sunday after it was told not to break a ban on approaching the eastern city of Derna, Libyan military spokesman Mohamed Hejazi told Reuters.

Turkey says vessel was carrying plasterboard to Tobruk. Forces loyal to Libya's internationally recognised government said on Monday they shelled a Turkish ship off the Libyan coast after it was warned not to approach, and one crew member was killed in what Turkey described as a "contemptible attack". Libya is in a state of violent factional chaos with two rival governments backed by various armed groups vying for control of the oil-producing North African state including its ports, four years after rebels overthrew Muammar Gaddafi. The dry cargo ship was targeted about 10 miles from the coast on Sunday after it was told not to break a ban on approaching the eastern city of Derna, Libyan military spokesman Mohamed Hejazi told Reuters.

A tanker left Libya's eastern oil port of Hariga after lifting one million barrels of crude, an oil official said on Thursday. No new tanker was expected in the next few days, said the official, asking not to be named. The terminal located in the eastern city of Tobruk had closed over the weekend due to poor weather. OPEC producer Libya has managed to boost output to almost 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) by reopening two western fields and keeping eastern ports open despite militant attacks and fighting between rival factions allied to two competing governments vying for control. But the oil sector is facing uncertainty. The internationally-recognised government based in the east has unveiled plans to sell oil via a new state firm bypassing the established entity in the capital Tripoli.

An oil tanker has docked at Libya's port of Hariga for the first time since security guards ended a strike this week and a storm passed, a port official said on Thursday. Authorities managed earlier this week to persuade security guards to end a strike over delayed salary payments, keeping Libya's only functional onshore oil export port open. A storm then further delayed the terminal's reopening. Greek-registered Minerva Zoe, which had been waiting to dock for a week, would start loading 725,000 barrels of oil soon, the official said, asking not to be identified. The tanker was bound for Italy. Another tanker importing 25,000 tonnes to Libya had also arrived, he said.

Libya's eastern oil export port Hariga shut down because of a strike over unpaid salaries of  security guards, closing the country's last functioning export port apart from two offshore fields. The closure will lower oil output to less than 300,000 barrels a day, a fraction of the 1.6 million Libya used to pump before the 2011 uprising toppling Muammar Gaddafi. The terminal near Tobruk, with a capacity of 120,000 b/d has by and large escaped disruption thanks to its easterly position. In particular it has been unaffected by the attempted seizure by Libya Dawn of the Sidra and Ras Lanuf oil terminals and facilities. However the port was closed on Saturday morning by striking security guards who complained they have not been paid.

Libya's recognized government has released a tanker forced to dock at a port under its control after originally banning it from delivering fuel to its rival administration, a port official said on Tuesday. War planes forced the tanker Anwaar Afriqya to sail to Tobruk after it had originally approached the port of Misrata, the air force commander for the recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni said on Monday. Libya's recognized government has worked from a headquarters in the east of the country since the summer when rival forces under the banner Libya Dawn took over the capital Tripoli and installed their own self-proclaimed government.

Crew members killed in tanker attack this month; West fears worsening violence could lead to civil war. Oil shippers face higher costs and the possible loss of insurance cover on Libyan voyages, caught in a struggle between the rival governments there and threatened by air attacks. John Dalby of maritime security firm MRM, said he had prepared evacuation plans for an unnamed oil company if the situation deteriorated further, adding that attacks on tankers were expected to continue, reducing the pool of ships willing to make runs to and from Libya. "We are likely to see more attrition between the rival governments and tankers are an easy target," he said. "This is expected to mean tanker owners will be even less keen on risking their tankers.