The Setubal Express, a ship that left Malta on Tuesday and was prohibited from entering Libya due to suspicious cargo, remained in international waters yesterday as the government tried to find out what the irregularities may be, a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister said.

“We are still trying to gather what has happened,” the spokesman said, pointing out that an inquiry would be launched, if needed, as soon as information was gathered.

It was as yet too early to say what happened, he said, or whether an inquiry was needed.

On Thursday, the Malta-registered ship was instructed not to proceed on its voyage to Tripoli after it was intercepted by HMS Liverpool, which found irregularities in the cargo record book.

No details about the suspicious cargo were given. However, when it was given clearance before leaving Malta, the Setubal Express was carrying motor vehicles, clothing, furniture, spare parts, cement, foodstuffs and raw materials.

It could have been that some of the cargo served a dual purpose, the government spokesman pointed out.

The Maltese authorities will be submitting a detailed communication to the UN Sanctions Committee and asking for its urgent direction on the matter.

Meanwhile, a Maltese vessel has ferried about 150 people, mainly wounded, from the battle zone of Misurata to Tunisia, The Times has learnt.

As part of a Medécins Sans Frontières mission, the Virtu ferries catamaran MV San Pawl was chartered for two trips to the war torn city, where the fighting has cut off inhabitants from external assistance and hospitals and clinics are overwhelmed with casualties, an MSF spokesman told the newspaper.

Tunisia was chosen as a safe haven for the wounded because the organisation had an agreement with the authorities of the country that itself has only recently recovered from its own revolution, the spokesman said.

The agreement saw the organisation through the logistics of helping with the transfer of patients to hospital and their treatment there.

An MSF spokesman could not confirm whether the organisation was trying to come to a similar agreement with Maltese authorities, saying future missions were as yet unconfirmed.

Earlier last month however, a Health Ministry spokesman confirmed requests by MSF to bring wounded to Malta and plans were in place to undergo such a mission if it were to materialise.

On its first journey, the MV San Pawl first picked up supplies from Sfax, Tunisia and delivered them to Misurata. It left the Libyan city on April 3 with 71 casualties on board, including three people on life support, 11 major trauma patients and many others with abdominal wounds and open fractures.

Intensive medical care was provided on board until the vessel arrived back in Sfax the next day.

On the second trip the ship left again from Sfax for Misurata, to bring back 64 war-wounded patients and 45 other people to Zarzis, Tunisia, on Friday. Tunisian health authorities and the Red Crescent helped transfer the patients to Sfax, where there are several hospitals and clinics. Among the 64 casualties on the second transfer, 10 people were in critical condition, three were on mechanical ventilation and one was suffering from severe anaemia, requiring blood transfusions.

“With the latest heavy bombardments in Misrata, the situation is worsening as hospitals have to discharge patients before their treatment is completed in order to treat those wounded by fighting. Many of the injured cannot even access medical facilities without further risking their life,” Morten Rostrup, an MSF doctor who participated in the operation said.

For weeks, health structures have been struggling to cope with the influx of patients, the doctor said.

“Hospitals and clinics have been lacking medical equipment and personnel to treat the wounded and the sick suffering from chronic diseases,” he continued.

In fact Malta has acted as a hub for the departure of aid to this war-torn city, being the closest country to Misurata. Red Cross and SOS independently sent three shipments of aid to the Misurata port, which is the only point of access to the inhabitants, as other routes of access are largely occupied by Gaddafi forces.