An Italian motor tanker, the Antignano is assisting a boat carrying some 200 migrants in the Libyan rescue zone some 70 miles north of Benghazi.
The operation is taking place in very rough sea conditions.
An AFM spokesman denied Italian web media reports that Maltese patrol boats were involved in the operation, but said Malta Rescue Coordination Centre is being kept informed as a neighbouring SAR authority by their Italian counterparts. The spokesman stressed that the boat was pinpointed in the Libyan search and rescue region of responsibility and the operation is being coordinated by Italian authorities in conjunction with the Libyan authorities.
The alarm was raised by a satellite phone call from the boat to an official of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) late yesterday, and the boat's position was then pinpointed by satellite.
The Italian ship was directed to the migrants' boat by the Italian rescue coordination centre in Rome.
Another migrants' boat, also believed to have left from Benghazi, arrived in Noto, Italy, a few days ago.