TORM Tanker Picks Up 200 Migrants Off Libya

The Torm tanker TORM Lotte rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea in July 2014. Photo: TORM A/S

A TORM product tanker on Sunday assisted Italian authorities in a rescue operation to save migrants from two unseaworthy boats off the Libyan coast.

TORM, one of the world’s leading carriers of refined oil products, says that on the morning of 21 June 2015 its Singapore-flagged TORM Arawa was drifting off Zawiya, Libya when it received a distress call from the Italian coast guard requesting assistance for two boats carrying refugees.

TORM Arawa arrived on scene about an hour later and was requested to pick up the refugees from both boats. Within just a few hours, the crew of the TORM Arawa helped rescue a total of 222 people and provided them with food, water and blankets.

The vessel was instructed to proceed to Port Reggio Calabria in Italy where the refugees we disembarked a day later.

“I am pleased that our capable crew acted according to procedures and saved so many lives, reflecting outstanding commitment to international maritime laws and humanitarian efforts,” says Jesper Jensen, Head of TORM’s Technical Division.

In July 2014, another TORM product tanker, the TORM Lotte, assisted in a similar rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea, resulting in the rescue of up to 300.

The Italian coast guard reported Tuesday that ships patrolling the Mediterranean had plucked more than 3,700 migrants from overcrowded boats in the just last few days alone.

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