The Italian fishing trawler Fatima II was hijacked after mutiny on board. The vessel had 7 crew members on board – 4 Italians, 2 Egyptians and a Tunisian, when an ethnic conflict caused mutiny. The Egyptian and Tunisian seamen killed the fishing ship’s master and hijacked the vessel. The other three Italian crew members were forced to board a life raft and were left into the the sea. The accident happened in Mediterranean Sea on position 103 miles off Libyan coast. The Italians, who escaped from the ship phoned to their homes and were found by cargo ship, who carried the seamen to Greece. The three crew members are no injured in good condition, but the fishing ship is missing. The Italian authorities started investigation about the accident together with the North African countries, for searching for the fishing trawler Fatima II. Most probably the ship is somewhere along the North Africa Med coast, as the the coast guards of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are searching for the missing trawler.
The fishing ship Fatima II is new Italian vessel, which has length of 16.80 meters. The ship is operating in Mediterranean Sea and is expected after the hijacking to start illegal operations for transportation of migrants from North Africa to Europe.