An Armed Forces of Malta patrol boat rescued 539 migrants at sea in the course of a FRONTEX TRITON operation across the central Mediterranean.
The AFM's P62, its largest patrol vessel, spent five days at sea as part of the Rome-coordinated operations, and rescued migrants in the vicinity of the Libyan coast who had taken to sea in inclement weather.
"The rescues included the combined efforts of several other EU assets including the Italian Coastguard and NGO vessels," the AFM said in a statement.
FRONTEX is the EU's border management agency. Its TRITON mission is led by Italy and involves voluntary contributions from 15 other European nations, including Malta.