The Egyptians “capture” an Italian fishing boat, the government releases it –

Giuseppe China

April 15, 2024

The diplomatic incident with Egypt was just around the corner, but the intervention of Italian diplomacy avoided the worst. The protagonist of our story is a fishing boat – the Nicola Padre – flying the tricolor flag which left on Sunday night from Santa Maria la Scala (Catania) and was stopped for around three hours by the Egyptian authorities, who accused the vessel of having trespassed into the territorial waters of African country. A story with a happy ending managed by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Francesco Lollobrigida, in collaboration with the Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and with that of the Coast Guard represented by the general commander of the port authorities, Admiral Nicola Carlone. But let’s get back to the facts.

Around 10am the Italian fishing vessel was stopped by an Egyptian patrol boat. After calling a halt, the African officers ordered the fishermen to follow them to carry out further investigations. At this point the Italian vessel might not help but communicate what was happening to the national rescue center of the Coast Guard. A circumstance that triggered institutional contacts between the two countries. A very quick negotiation, which lasted just three hours, given that the fishing vessel was released by the Egyptian authorities around 12.50 pm, without payment of charges and seizure of equipment by the owner. Furthermore, it should be noted that the fishermen’s boat had its GPS connected to the connection center of the Coast Guard’s harbor master’s office, a detail that allowed the Italian institutions to follow the evolution of the matter in real time.

The vice president of Confcooperative Fedagripesca Paolo Tiozzo spoke regarding the unexpected incident of the Nicola Padre and its crew: «We immediately reported the case to the Italian authorities who intervened immediately, resolving a situation that might have become complicated and lead to a new unjustified seizure. According to the information we have, the boat was in international waters.” This last statement gives a yellow tinge to the story of Nicola Padre, which fortunately only resembles in some ways that of the tricolor oil tanker Enrica Lexie. Where on board were the marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who were accused and then cleared by Indian and Italian magistrates back in 2012 (in 2022 the investigating judge in Rome brought the case to an end) for the murder of two fishermen.