The Armed Forces of Malta has established contact with an Egyptian fishing vessel it had been trying to locate for more than 48 hours.

When contact was made, a crew member told the AFM the vessel had engine problems and other technical faults.

The ship's master said all faults had been fixed by the crew and the vessel was moving towards the Egyptian Coast.

The initial call for assistance was made by the Egyptian Consulate for Malta.

It was claimed that family members of the eight-man crew of the Zeinah al Bahreen, were concerned since none had made any contact with their relatives over the past few days.

The AFM notified ship masters to assist as required and deployed a maritime patrol aircraft and a patrol boat. Other rescue coordination centres were also informed of the situation.