A group of 25 Maltese nationals arrived on a Virtu Ferries Catamaran from Tripoli this evening.

They included Veronica Pace, who lives in Tripoli. She said that the road where she lived and worked was bombed and shelled heavily over the past couple of days. Everything was quiet and then one evening bullets started coming and there were explosions.

She said that in a neighbouring area, where she then moved, there was no violence. Despite the chaos, she plans to return to Tripoli and hoped the violence would have stopped by summer.

Ahmed Misurati, 45, a Libyan married to Maltese woman, said he ran a small family business in Tripoli and knew people who had been injured. He was not sure when he would be returning home.

Representatives from the company, which offered them the trip free of charge, went on board the catamaran as soon as it arrived to welcome the Maltese home.

Their trip to Malta was coordinated by the government after company directors offered the remaining spaces on its Catamaran chartered by Hyundai to Maltese nationals.

There were in all 251 passengers on board, all Hyundai employees except for the Maltese, including Bangladeshi, South Koreans, Indians and Filipinos.

Virtu Ferries managing director Henri Saliba said the vessel would now be refuelled and on stand-by as it could be off on another journey to Libya tomorrow.

"Nothing is confirmed, it is very touch and go but I imagine we will be making more trips soon," he said.

Speaking on One during the programme Sibt il-Punt, Foreign Minister George Vella said that the government was in contact with other countries including Italy and the Philippines to offer Maltese in Benghazi the opportunity to return.

In its statement, the ministry said it was constantly monitoring the situation and was in contact with the remaining Maltese in Libya.