The HMS York returned to Grand Harbour yesterday with 43 evacuees from Libya after delivering 1.5 tons of medical aid to hospitals in the coastal city of Benghazi.

“They have to make quite hard priorities at the (Benghazi) hospitals,” said Anders Nordmark from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, which provided the medicinal supplies.

“People who go with more common problems, like back pain, are told to return at another time as they have been receiving wounded people.”

Hospitals in Benghazi were beginning to run out of supplies as they were using them up quickly and were not being supplied through the normal channels, he added.

Meeting up with hospital representatives at Benghazi harbour, he got the impression that the hospitals were full up, and although they had not reached a chaotic situation yet, the conditions were very stressful.

As part of its humanitarian mission, the HMS York came into Malta early on Tuesday morning loaded the supplies, which were transferred from the airport by the Armed Forces of Malta “in atrocious weather”.

The Swedish consul made a list of things the hospitals were lacking and the Swedish government provided them.

They included antibiotics, fluids, bandages and anesthetics.

The British destroyer also picked up 43 people from the east Libyan port, which is now known to be in the hands of the protestors. The evacuees, 11 of which were from the UK, hailed from 13 different countries.

Speaking after berthing at Valletta, Captain Cdr Simon Staley said the situation in Benghazi was calm although somewhat more chaotic at the jetty.

Many local Libyans were there, “welcoming us with open arms”, the captain said.

“The impression I got is that it was a city that was calm and comfortable. They had a sniff of freedom and they liked the smell of it, but there was also a situation of nerves. Clearly it’s a very uncomfortable position that they’re in.”

The evacuees aboard the HMS York came from a mix of situations, with people who had driven all night from oil fields some 250 miles away, other “emotional” families who “clearly had been exposed to awful conditions” and others who were leaving husbands and fathers behind, all with stories to tell, he said.

The ship is expected to refuel in Malta and return to sea to be available for further missions.