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KALAMATA, Greece (AP) Nine survivors from a migrant boat that sank were arrested Thursday on suspicion of smuggling as hope faded for hundreds of missing passengers and attention turned to Greeces failure to act before the overcrowded ship capsized.

The trawler may have carried as many as 750 passengers, including women and children who were likely trapped in the hold as the vessel overturned and went down early Wednesday. That could make the sinking one of the deadliest ever in the central Mediterranean Sea.

A huge search-and-rescue operation initially recovered 78 bodies and picked up 104 survivors all men and boys. But no more have been found.

Meanwhile, Greek authorities were criticized for not acting to rescue the migrants, even though a coast guard vessel escorted the trawler for hours and watched helplessly as it sank in minutes. Greek officials argued that the migrants repeatedly refused assistance and insisted on continuing to Italy. Legal experts said that was no excuse.

The coast guard said late Thursday that it had arrested nine survivors on suspicion of belonging to the smuggling ring that arranged the voyage. State-run ERT TV said the suspects were all Egyptians, adding that the ship originally left an Egyptian port for the area of Tobruk in eastern Libya, where it picked up the migrants.

Relatives of the migrants who each paid thousands of dollars for passage on the battered vessel gathered in the southern port city of Kalamata to look for their loved ones.

Kassem Abu Zeed said he caught the first flight from Germany to Greece after realizing that his wife and brother-in-law were aboard the trawler.

The last time we spoke was eight days ago, and (my wife) told me that she was getting ready to get on the boat, Abu Zeed told The Associated Press. She had paid $5,000 to smugglers. And then we all know what happened.

Abu Zeed, a 34-year-old Syrian refugee living in Hamburg, said Esra Aoun, 21, and her 19-year-old brother, Abdullah, risked the dangerous crossing from Libya to Italy after they failed to find a legal way to join him in Germany.

The chances are low that Abu Zeeds wife survived the sinking about 75 kilometers (45 miles) offshore. None of those rescued were women.

Now he hopes Abdullah may be among the men from Syria, Egypt, Pakistan and the Palestinian territories who are being temporarily housed in a Kalamata warehouse or recuperating in hospitals from hypothermia and exposure.

The chances of finding more survivors are minimal, retired Greek coast guard Adm. Nikos Spanos told ERT.

The U.N. migration agency, known as IOM, estimated the number of passengers based on interviews with survivors and said the complement included at least 40 children.

Erasmia Roumana, head of a United Nations refugee agency delegation, said many of the survivors have friends and relatives unaccounted for.

They want to get in touch with their families to tell them they are OK, and they keep asking about the missing, Roumana said.

Mohamed Abdi Marwan, who spoke by phone from Kobani, a Kurdish majority town in Syria, said five of his relatives were on the boat, including a 14-year-old. Marwan said hes heard nothing about them since the vessel sank.

He believes his nephew Ali Sheikhi, 29, is alive, after family members spotted him in photos of survivors, but that has not been confirmed.

Those smugglers were supposed to only have 500 on the boat and now we hear there were 750. What is this? Are they cattle or humans? How can they do this? Marwan said. He said each of his relatives paid $6,000 for the trip.

Greek authorities said the vessel appeared to be sailing normally until shortly before it sank and refused repeated rescue offers. But a network of activists said they received repeated distress calls from the vessel during the same time.

The Greek coast guard said it was notified of the boats presence late Tuesday morning and observed by helicopter that it was sailing on a steady course at 6 p.m.

A little later, Greek search-and-rescue officials reached someone on the boat by satellite phone, who repeatedly said that passengers needed food and water but wanted to continue to Italy.

Merchant ships delivered supplies and observed the vessel until early Wednesday morning, when the satellite phone user reported a problem with the engine. About 40 minutes later, according to the coast guard statement, the migrant vessel began to rock violently and sank.

Coast guard experts believe the boat may have run out of fuel or experienced engine trouble, with movement of passengers causing it to list and capsize.

Alarm Phone, a network of activists that provides a hotline for migrants in trouble, said the problems began much earlier in the day. The network said it was contacted by people on the vessel seeking help shortly after 3 p.m. They said they cannot survive the night.

Around 6:20 p.m., Alarm Phone wrote, migrants reported the vessel was not moving and that the captain had left on a small boat. The two accounts could not immediately be reconciled.

Experts said maritime law would have required Greek authorities to attempt a rescue if the boat was unsafe, regardless of whether passengers requested it.

Search and rescue is not a two-way contract. You dont need consent, retired Italian coast guard Adm. Vittorio Alessandro said.

An aerial photograph of the vessel before it sank released by Greek authorities showed people crammed on the deck. Most were not wearing life jackets.

Overcrowding, a lack of life vests, or the absence of a captain would have all been reasons to intervene, Alessandro said.

Professor Erik Rsg from the University of Oslos Institute of Private Law said Greek authorities definitely had a duty to start rescue procedures given the condition of the trawler.

He said a captains refusal of assistance can be overruled if deemed unreasonable. It appears that the refusal in this case was highly unreasonable, Rsg said.

Greeces caretaker minister for civil protection, Evangelos Tournas, defended the coast guards conduct, saying it couldnt intervene with an unwilling vessel in international waters.

Consider also that an intervention by the coast guard could have placed an overloaded vessel in danger, which could capsize as a result, he said.

The trawler sank near the deepest part of the Mediterranean, where depths of up to 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) could hamper any effort to locate a sunken vessel.

Human rights groups say a European Union crackdown on smuggling has forced people to take longer, more dangerous routes to reach safe countries.

Eftychia Georgiadi, an official in Greece with the International Rescue Committee charity, said the EUs failure to offer more safe pathways to migration effectively slams the door on people seeking protection.

Nobody embarks on these treacherous journeys unless they feel they have no other option, she said.

___

Paphitis reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, and Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP stories on global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

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Hope dims for missing migrants amid questions about Greece's actions in deadly sinking - The Associated Press

The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) held a forum on reforming and developing Libyas health system on Monday at its Tripoli headquarters.

The high level event was attended by Tripoli based Libyan Prime Minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, the Director General of the NESDB, Mahmoud al-Futaisi, the head of the Audit Bureau, Khaled Shakshak, the Ministers of Finance and Economy, the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and the Prime Minister, the Undersecretaries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Health, with the participation of a number of heads of government agencies and sectors concerned with the subject of the event, in addition to independent national expertise.

During the event, a plan to manage the health sector crisis, a proposal to provide and enhance health services (universal health coverage), a health care financing model based on economic foundations, and a digital transformation project for the health sector were reviewed.

Libyan patients get poor healthcare relative to amounts spent Commenting exclusively Libya Herald on the event, NESDB head Mahmoud Al-Futaisi said that the NESDB sought to develop several national strategies for each sector, including the national strategy for the health sector. This strategy, he explained, focuses mainly on reforming, restructuring, organizing, and developing the health sector, given the apparent deterioration in the provision of services due to its end-users.

This is especially the case in view of government spending on the sector, in the tens of billions of dinars, distributed to several bodies, centres, authorities and health facilities throughout the country. But, despite this, the Libyan citizen suffers in order to obtain appropriate and timely treatment, he emphasised.

Need to link and regulate the state and private health sectors Al-Futaisi said there is a need to link the efforts made by the government in order to support its health sector and the private sector that provides good health services to the citizen while regulating the relationship between the public and private sectors, and preparing a clear vision within the health sector development strategy based on successive time goals leading to designing a clear plan and milestones of an integrated health system.

Final outputs to be widely shared The NESDB head said that it was agreed to expand the circle of sharing the final outputs with all parties, institutions and independent national experts interested in reforming and developing the health system, including their observations and recommendations, and then referring them to the Prime Minister for approval and issuing the necessary decisions in this regard to put them into effect.

Later on last Monday, Prime Minister Aldabaiba went on to another event to inaugurated the National System for Treatment and Rationalization of Expenditure, the Our Health app, and the Electronic Signature system, which were introduced for the first time in the Libyan health sector. The initiatives are part of the governments digitisation policy of the health system.

This came during the activities of the International Conference on Localization of Treatment opened in Tripoli on Monday, organized by the Support and Development of Therapeutic Services Department and sponsored by the state telecommunications holding company, LPTIC.

At the localisation of healthcare conference Aldabaiba inaugurates several new services (libyaherald.com)

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Forum to reform and develop Libya's health system and launch the ... - Libya Herald

At the conference held in Tripoli today it was agreed that insurance is an important part of the solution of reactivating Libyas stalled projects.

The conference entitled Stalled Projects in Libya: Reality and Challenges under the banner Insurance is a Pillar of the National Economy was organised by a Libyan insurance company under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy and Trade and the Economic and Social Development Board (ESDB).

Making the keynote speech, the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Mohamed Hwej said reactivating Libyas stalled projects will create jobs for youth and move the economic cycle forward. It will increase GDP and increase the incomes of citizens. It will also increase stability and security and sustainable development.

He said Libya needs to move forward and catch up with the rest of the world. It needs to move to a knowledge economy. The rest of the world has overtaken Libya and moved on.

Making a veiled attack on Libyas political elite, of which he is a part, Hwej said We need the will, the vision and management to reactivate Libyas stalled projects.

The causes of Libyas stalled projects Several local and international speakers (in-person and virtually) then presented papers on the subject. These including a local state bank, the Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB), the Privatisation and Investment Board (PIB), the Insurance Supervisory Board, the Undersecretary for International Cooperation of the Foreign Ministry, the Libyan Iron and Steel Company (LISCO), and insurance/reinsurance experts.

The main cause cited for the prevention of the implementation or completion of stalled projects was initially the 2011 war that ended the Qaddafi regime and the subsequent wars and militia clashes.

Damage, pillage and occupation of project sites and the subsequent security vacuum was seen as the symptom of these wars. For example, one speaker said his entity was awaiting the evacuation of their incomplete houses by the authorities.

Price changes, inflation and the devaluation of the Libyan dinar were cited as another cause of projects continuing to be stalled.

The lack of finance from the state was another factor since all the projects that were being discussed were directly or indirectly state projects financed from the state budget.

The demand by foreign contractors for price adjustments and their constant demands for compensation for losses before resuming their projects, was also cited as a factor.

With an estimated 23,000 stalled projects with an average completion rate of 50 percent, speakers agreed that there is a need to prioritise projects.

Prioritisation of projects While it was agreed that the Libyan state will be unable to finance all its stalled projects, as, for example, it had only allocated LD 77.8 bn on projects between 2012 and 2022, the criteria for prioritisation was not discussed.

China is the biggest developer in Libya and the most communicative Giving the perspective of the Foreign Ministry from the viewpoint of its negotiations with foreign states and companies, Deputy Foreign Minister Omar Al-Kitty said China is by far the biggest developer in Libya.

It has also been the most communicative with Libya regarding resumption of its stalled projects. This, he thought, was because most of the Chinese companies involved in projects in Libya are state owned or state-controlled companies. Therefore, the decision lies with the state. This makes it easier to communicate as there is just one Chinese interlocutor for Libya to deal with.

He said foreign companies need safety of their workers. They are also asking for the re drafting of their contracts. He said a committee had been formed to deal with stalled projects. He reminded that the issue of stalled projects involves other project implementation parties and is not the exclusive domain of the Foreign Ministry.

Factors for non-resumption of stalled projects cited to Foreign Ministry The Deputy Foreign Minister revealed that the factors cited by foreign companies/foreign states for the non-resumption of their projects include:

The Deputy Foreign Ministry revealed that, together with the Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush, he will be going on an Asian Tour. This will include the relevant entities involved with stalled projects. The tour will include China, Japan, South Korea and India.

Need for a unified plan and body to deal with stalled projects The Deputy Foreign Minister said there is a need for a national plan for stalled projects. There needs to be a unified effort by one body and not, as is case now, several dispersed bodies to face foreign interlocutors.

He said foreign entities want to deal with a country or a state. They want stability of communication, not different governments, different political streams, and different personalities.

Finally, he revealed that while negotiating with the South Koreans on the Manmade River Project, they told him that the Libyans dont have loyalty to their achievements. They regarded the Man-made River project, he explained, as a great historical engineering project which they were proud to be involved in.

Force majeure should mean the end of old contracts Speaking on the Libyan Iron and Steel Companys (LISCO) experience, their speaker said all its stalled projects are with foreign companies. He said some foreign companies were prepared to give up compensation in return for LISCO overlooking their late implementation of their contracted project.

He said foreign companies want guarantee of payment but said any new contracts signed with foreign companies after 2011 should accept instability in Libya as a given otherwise they should not have entered into a contract.

He said force majeure should end old contracts, otherwise contractors continuously call for compensation. He admitted that there is a need for banks to be a third party in contracts to guarantee payment for foreign contractors.

Insurance frameworks already exist for stalled projects across the world Libya is not unique Isaac Sahhar, Business Development Officer at London-based United Insurance Brokers said Libya is expected to spend about US$ 100 billion on projects by 2030. He said there are many stall projects across the world including the economically advanced world. Stalled projects are not unique to Libya. he said insurance frameworks already exist in the international community for stalled projects so that there is no need to reinvent the wheel for Libyas stalled projects.

Therefore, it is a matter of political know how and will to force projects in Libya to take out insurance. Insurance should be made compulsory for all project contracts. He said it is a matter of culture in countries such as Libya to not take out insurance. Insurance is, unfortunately and wrongly, seen as a waste of money.

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Insurance is an important part of the solution of restarting stalled ... - Libya Herald

[18.05 08.06.23] The following publication by SOS MEDITERRANEE intends to shed light on events which unfolded in the central Mediterranean in the past weeks. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather to provide a general update on maritime search-and-rescue-related matters occurring in the area we have been operating in since 2016, based on public reports by different NGOs, international organisations and the international press.

Rescues operated near daily by NGO ships, maritime authorities playing a small part in coordination of operations while still attributing distant ports that empty Search and Rescue capacities in the central Mediterranean

On May 17, the rescue ship Louise Michel evacuated 71 people from an overcrowded rubber boat in distress, less than a day after being back at sea. The crew was informed by aircraft Colibri 2 from Pilotes Volontaires about a potential distress case. The next day, the survivors were disembarked in the port of Trapani, Italy.

Between May 18 and 19, according to Italian journalist of Radio Radicale Sergio Scandura, around 700 people were rescued off the coast of Calabria by Italian coast guards, disembarked in Messina and Reggio Calabria, Italy, by Diciotti coast guard ship.

On May 19, according to civil hotline Alarm Phone, the container ship CAPE FRANKLIN rescued 48 people from a boat in distress, coordinated by the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC). The survivors were disembarked in Pozzallo, Italy.

On May 19, 26 survivors rescued by Geo Barents, vessel operated by MSF, were disembarked in Brindisi, Italy.

On May 25, Ocean Viking of the NGO SOS MEDITERRANEE was involved in a long joint operation with Emergency NGO and seabird aircraft from Sea Watch NGO, to search for a boat in distress reported by Alarm Phone, with approximately 500 people on board in the Maltese Search and Rescue Region, to no avail. The search lasted almost 48 hours: the people in distress were reportedly intercepted and forcibly brought back to Libya.

On May 26, Humanity 1 of SOS Humanity NGO rescued 88 people, including 10 minors, from an overcrowded wooden boat. Later, they were assigned the distant port of Livorno, Italy to disembark the rescued people, regardless of a second boat in distress reported by survivors. After a four-day transit, the 88 survivors were safely disembarked in Italy.

On May 27, another rescue was coordinated by the Italian MRCC, who contacted Geo Barents, operated by MSF, to assist an overcrowded boat in distress with 606 people onboard. After a long rescue operation, the survivors, including 11 women and 151 minors, were safely transferred on Geo Barents. MSF teams onboard were later instructed to disembark them in Bari, Italy. The disembarkation took place on May 30.

On May 28, sailing ship Nadir of Resqship NGO supported an overcrowded boat with about 55 people in distress, providing people with life jackets and water, then accompanying the survivors towards Lampedusa. Later, the Guardia di Finanza proceeded to their evacuation and disembarkation in Lampedusa. The same day, the crew of the Sea Eye 4, operated by Sea-Eye NGO rescued 17 people from a wooden boat in distress at sea. Immediately after, they were assigned the port of Ortona, Italy by the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, about 1,300 nautical miles away.

On May 30, the Sea Eye 4 conducted a second operation in the Maltese Search and Rescue (SAR) zone, while searching for another case of approximately 400 people in distress. They managed to rescue 32 people from an unseaworthy wooden boat. The 49 survivors were all disembarked in Ortona, Italy, on June 2nd. As the ship did not proceed immediately to the port of Ortona after carrying out the first rescue, the Sea Eye 4 has been temporarily detained by Italian maritime authorities (see next chapter).

On May 31, a new SAR asset, Mare*Go, operated by Zusammenland, was involved in a joint operation with Resqships Nadir and Seabird 2 aircraft. Mare*Go arrived first on scene and assisted the boat in distress with 31 people on board. Later, the Guardia di Finanza evacuated them. Shortly after, the same day, Mare*Go crew spotted another boat in distress with 44 people on board. The crew stayed with the boat until evacuation of the survivors by the Guardia di Finanza.

The next day, on June 1st, several rescue operations were conducted. During the night, Resqships Nadir assisted a total of 160 people on 4 boats in distress in the Maltese SAR zone.

Mare*Go crew also spotted a metal boat in distress and rescued 36 people. Shortly after, they were assigned to the distant port of Trapani, Italy to disembark the survivors, but the vessel proceeded into port in Lampedusa instead. This led to her temporary detention by Italian authorities (see next chapter).

On June 2, Emergencys Life Support rescued 29 people in the Libyan SAR zone. They were assigned by maritime authorities the very distant port of Marina di Carrara, Italy. The survivors were eventually disembarked 3 days after, on June 5, after a 70-hour navigation from the area of operations to the assigned port.

The same day, Nadir assisted a boat in distress with 73 people onboard, providing them with life jackets and accompanying them towards Lampedusa, Italy. Later, the Italian coast guards evacuated the survivors and disembarked them to Lampedusa. The next day, the same crew found several boats in distress: a first operation involved two boats in distress with 65 people on board, providing them with life jackets, before the arrival of the Italian coast guards. Later, a second operation took place: a steel boat in distress was found in the Maltese SAR zone with 39 people on board. Again, the crew provided them with life jackets and accompanied them towards Lampedusa, Italy. Later, the Italian coast guards evacuated the survivors and disembarked them to Lampedusa.

On June 7, according to Sergio Scandura, Italian coast guards were involved in 3 rescue operations in South of Calabria, one of approximately 900 people and two others of approximately 100 and 150.

Two rescue ships temporarily detained by Italian authorities after rescuing a total of 85 people, prevented to pursue their vital mission

Two German vessels have been temporarily detained by Italian authorities after conducting 3 rescue operations between May 28 and June 1st. The Mare*Go and Sea-Eye 4 are said to have violated the new Italian decree law passed in Italy on February 24, providing for the regulation of the activities of vessels dedicated to Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean. Rescue vessels are for instance required to request the assignment of a port and sail to it immediately after each rescue. In both cases, the vessels were punished with 20 days of administrative detention each.

On its first mission, Mare*Go rescued 36 people from distress at sea on June 1st. The ship disembarked the survivors in Lampedusa, although the authorities had assigned her the Sicilian port of Trapani. The ships crew warned that it would not be able to cover the distance to reach the assigned port of Trapani, and that their ship was not equipped to treat the rescued people on the move for that period of time (minimum thirty-two hours of navigation). Mare*Go was detained upon arrival in Lampedusa.

Sea-Eye organization declared they will appeal the decision. On June 4th, the NGO also appealed to the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and the German Foreign Office with an urgent request for help. This law could completely shut down civilian sea rescue if the Italian authorities continue to apply it in this way. After all, we will not ignore distress calls to prevent detentions. To put us in front of this choice is inhumane and irresponsible, said Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye.

Tragic milestone of one thousand deaths recorded in the central Mediterranean while interceptions and forced returns continue amidst escalation of violence in Libya

The International Organisation for Migrations (IOM)s Missing Migrants project documented 1,030 deaths recorded in the Central Mediterranean this year only. These figures are an undercount of the true death toll.They mark a worrying increase in deaths compared to the same period last year.

Between May 14 and June 3 2023, at least 900 people were forcibly returned to Libya according the IOM, totalising 6,684 people intercepted by Libyan coast guards in 2023 so far.

Several interceptions taking place in the central Mediterranean were also witnessed and reported by SAR NGOs.

On May 24, SOS Humanity witnessed an illegal pushback performed by a merchant vessel. According to the NGO, the Italian MRCC alerted Humanity 1 and nearby vessels about a boat in distress with 27 people on board. Humanity 1 reported that the people in distress were brought onboard the merchant vessel P. Long Beach, recording a radio conversation where the merchant vessels captain was confirming bringing the survivors to Libya.

On June 8, Sea Bird aircraft and MSFs Geo Barents witnessed Libyan coast guards intercepting a boat in distress with approximately 50 people in international waters, then setting fire to it.

The surge of departures is partly explained by the chaotic situation in Libya. According to Agenzia Nova, tensions were reported in the coastal city of Zawiya at the end of May, with airstrikes conducted by Tripolis prime minister, sending a signal to opponents.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) called on the parties involved to respect national and international law and protect the civilian population.

According to Ansa, US and British embassies also reacted to the escalation of tensions, calling for dtente among the parties involved in the violence in Zawiya.

The beginning of June did not deescalate in violence for people living and transiting in Libya, with migrants detained in raids in the border town of Musaid and other areas in eastern Libya, according to AP news.

Three months after the shipwreck, investigation on Cutro drama

June 2nd, an investigation published by Le Monde, El Pais, Sky News, Domani and Sddeutsche Zeitung, in partnership with Lighthouse Reports, revealed the failings of the Italian authorities and Frontex implications during the Cutro shipwreck. The investigation claims to find contradictions in the official account and evidence that both Italy and Frontex misstated what they knew about storm weather and the boats condition.

On February 26, at least 94 people died, including babies and women, in a shipwreck in Cutro, on the southern Italian coast of Calabria. The boat had departed from Turkey four days earlier, with over 200 people onboard and sank while attempting to land after it crashed into rocks in rough weather conditions. According to different media reports and to Frontex, the latter spotted the dinghy via aerial surveillance a day before the tragedy and relayed the information to the Italian authorities. The Italian authorities launched a law enforcement operation rather than a search and rescue operation in sending two patrol boats of the Italian financial guards that eventually had to return to port because of weather conditions. More than 40 Italian and European civil society associations submitted a collective complaint to the Public Prosecutors Office at the Crotone Court asking for an investigation into the Cutro shipwreck to shed light on the responsibilities of Frontex and of the Italian authorities in the deaths of these people.

Six people are reportedly under investigation, including three Guardia di finanza officials, accused of failing to prevent the tragedy. There will be a trial for the sinking of Cutro, says Francesco Verri, one of the lawyers representing the victims families. The State has clear responsibilities, and the Crotone public prosecutors office will establish them and bring the guilty parties before the judge, he believes.

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[Eyes on the Central Med #61] Chaotic situation in Libya and surge ... - ReliefWeb

The Chairman of the Libyan Post Telecommunications and Information Company (LPTIC), Libyas telecommunications holding company that controls all state telecoms sector, Mohamed Ben Ayad, signed an agreement to connect Italy with Libya through a submarine cable. The agreement is part of LPTICs 2025 vision to make Libya a major digital gateway in the world.

Commenting to Libya Herald on the agreement, the Director of LPTICs Media Office, Osama Al-Shaibani, said, The signing comes as part of the visit of the government delegation headed by the head of the Government of National Unity, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, to the Italian capital, Rome, and within the framework of the conclusion of a number of development and partnership agreements between the two countries.

Al-Shaibani said that LPTIC is working on developing the communications infrastructure locally and internationally, in cooperation with major international companies, which contribute to increasing the quality and speed of services provided by its subsidiaries.

The Tripoli-Mazara cable He said that Libya and Italy are connected to the Tripoli-Mazara cable, which is 570 km long and is owned by the Libyan International Telecom Company, a subsidiary of the LPTIC with the Italian Telecom Company Sparkle (TIS). This cable connects Libya to the European continent via Sicily / Italy with a capacity of 340 Gb / s.

The Silphium cable It is worth noting that Libya is also connected to the European continent through the international submarine cable Silphium, which is the first international submarine cable 100 percent owned by Libya and connects the eastern region to the world. It was launched in June 2012 with a length of 425 km and an initial capacity of 70 gigabits per second up to 1.2 Tbps. These capacities are currently being upgraded to 370 Gbps.

The Silphium cable connects the city of Derna to the city of Chania on the island of Crete in Greece. The international submarine cable Silphium was unique when it was established as the longest submarine cable in the world with the technology of not using signal re-strengthening equipment.

The Libyan International Telecoms Company completes Silphium submarine cable project linking Libya with Greece (libyaherald.com)

Libyan PM Aldabaiba leads high level ministerial delegation to Rome: multi-sector MoUs signed (libyaherald.com)

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Agreement signed to link Italy with Libya through a submarine cable - Libya Herald