Liberia informs about an incident and warns vessels about the restricted area

Liberia Maritime Authority on 7 July 2023 issued a marine advisory note warning about the area to be avoided when passing off a previously declared restricted area on the Libyan coast.

The purpose of this Marine Advisory is to inform shipowners, operators, and masters of an incident involving a Liberian Flagged vessel off the coast of Libya.

The vessel was en route from Alexandria, Egypt, to Misurata, Libya when, about 20 NM off Darnah on the Libyan coast, it was boarded by Libyan authorities.

The master was told that the vessel had violated the NAVAREA III warning 225/2016 related to a restricted area.

The crew's passports, seaman's books, and the ship's certificates were seized, and the vessel was ordered to proceed to Benghazi anchorage for further investigation.

Although the IMO has been officially notified of the withdrawal of the NAVAREA III warning via Circular letter No. 4585, all vessels transiting the Libyan Coast off Darnah between longitudes 220 00' E and 230 14' E are advised to keep north of 340 00'N and exercise caution when transiting this area.

For more information, please see the document below (available only to subscribers):

Area to be avoided when passing off a previously declared restricted area on the Libyan coast