A few days ago, 2 Italian fishing boats have returned to work in the international waters around Libya, in particular off the coast of Benghazi. In September 2020, two other boats of the Mazara del Vallo navy were seized right off Benghazi: for a whole day a patrol boat belonging to the militia of General Khalifa Haftar crossed off a group of Italian and Tunisian fishing boats. At the end of the evening, after receiving orders from land via radio, the Haftar militiamen hunted down the Italian fishing boats and seized two of them.
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On Saturday, strangely enough, the Foreign Ministry, instead of taking a measure against the shipowners or taking political action against the Libyan government or militias, wrote a letter to the mayor of Mazara del Vallo Salvatore Quinci, as if the mayor could be responsible for the actions of shipowners.
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The head of the Ministry’s Crisis Unit writes that “the fishing boats” Giuseppe Schiavone “and” Nuovo Cosimo “are located a few miles off the coast of Cyrenaica, not far from each other”. “This is a highly dangerous activity and likely to have serious consequences not only for boats but also for crews”. The Farnesina asks the mayor to convince the shipowners “so that the two boats leave the area immediately to protect the safety of the seafarers themselves. In the letter, the ministry argues that “the Libyan authorities could carry out police actions that could lead to the seizure of boats and fish, with the possibility that the same crews could be detained for unpredictable durations”. Which is like recognizing the legality of some militias in Libya, but above all it is a sign of the renunciation of asserting the right to fish in international waters that Italy does not recognize as being the responsibility of Libya.
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Mayor Salvatore Quinci, told Ansa that he had “heard the owner of the two fishing boats Salvatore De Santis, to whom I represented what was communicated to me by the Crisis Unit; now it will be up to him to examine the situation and understand what to do “. But the shipowner replied that “the two vessels are located 40 miles from Benghazi, in international waters, that is a very fish-rich area and, therefore, it is vital for us to work there. And it’s perfectly legal. “
Environments close to Mayor Quinci also expressed the discomfort that the mayor of Mazara felt in receiving the letter from the Farnesina: “First of all, the central State delegates the Mayor to deal with an issue that relates to the country’s foreign policy and public order. But then, after the accident last September, when a Navy ship was 3 hours away from the fishing boats and did not intervene, the Italian state gave up protecting its citizens in international waters. In fact, Libyan sovereignty is legitimized in international waters, and no action is taken to protect not only the fishermen, but also the interests of the Italian state ”.
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