Valletta’s port authority waited an hour before raising the alarm about a 60,000-ton oil tanker that slipped out of Maltese territorial waters to evade arrest, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt.

The MT Atlantik steamed out of territorial waters unchallenged on May 3, undermining Maltese authorities and the country’s reputation in the maritime industry.

The Marshall Islands’ flagged vessel was bunkering off St Paul’s Bay when it was slapped with an arrest warrant by the Maltese courts.

But according to documentation seen by The Sunday Times of Malta, rather than informing the Armed Forces of Malta straight away, the Valletta Ports Vessel Traffic Service – an arm of Transport Malta – ordered the vessel to drop anchor.

The arrest warrant reached port authorities at 7.27pm but the AFM were only asked to intercept the vessel an hour later, at 8.25pm, 10 minutes after the tanker left Maltese territorial waters.

During this time, the Valletta authority kept trying to contact the captain but he had shut down communication and allowed the vessel to steam closer to the border before pushing out of Maltese jurisdiction.

The situation was compounded by the fact that the AFM was stretched at that point in time. The two patrol boats in service on the night were deployed, one in a search and rescue operation to the south of Malta and the other with a fireworks display that was taking place at the Grand Harbour to mark the 10th anniversary since Malta joined the EU.

Read detailed explainer, reaction, in the Sunday Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.