Migrants are using “anything that floats” to leave Libya, according to the commander of the Armed Forces of Malta who says he expects sea crossings to intensify in the coming months.

Speaking after a massive operation by the AFM, the Italian and US navies to rescue migrants from 25 boats, Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi said yesterday things could get worse as the weather improved.

“The boats did not stop coming in the winter months despite the bad weather let alone now that sea conditions have improved... migrants are taking to sea in anything that floats,” he told Times of Malta. Migrants fleeing Libya were using dinghies and wooden boats, big and small, he added.

A group of 130 migrants were brought to Malta on a patrol boat on Saturday night.

Asked whether the government had any contingency plans if the number of arrivals shot up suddenly, a spokeswoman for the Home Affairs Ministry said work to maximise the capacity of detention centres never stopped.

“The capacity is what it is but we took advantage of the lull to refurbish the closed centres to make better use of the available space,” she said, refusing to be drawn into what would happen if the number of arrivals exceeded capacity.

More on Times of Malta.