The Virtù Ferries vessel San Gwann has been deployed, under charter to the government of Australia, between Beirut, Lebanon and Larnaca, Cyprus to evacuate Australian nationals stranded in Lebanon as a result of current hostilities in the Middle East.

The San Gwann left Pula, in Croatia, on Wednesday and was due in Beirut yesterday. It was operating on a route between Venice and Adriatic ports in Croatia.

Under international maritime safety regulations, fast ferry shipping companies on international routes have to man a crisis response centre on call 24 hours a day. Virtù responded within 12 hours to deploy the vessel on Beirut, a company spokesman said.

The San Gwann, with a capacity of 427 passengers and 21 cars, has a cruising speed of 38 knots. It is being manned by two full crews from Virtù Ferries to enable multiple voyages between Beirut and Larnaca.

All diplomatic arrangements, in terms of international law, for the vessel to enter the blockaded port of Beirut are being handled by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The management, logistics and operation of the San Gwann continue to be the responsibility of Virtù Ferries.

Members of the company's senior management team and support staff are in Larnaca to direct operations.

Henri Saliba, director of Virtù Ferries, said that being called in for an international emergency is not new to the company. In fact, this is the second time the company deployed one of its vessels between Beirut and Larnaca during hostilities. The first time was a rescue operation to evacuate people from Lebanon in 1989 as a result of the Middle East war. On that occasion the high speed vessel, the SES Santa Maria, received extensive international media coverage including by The Times of London and Time magazine.

The Australian High Commissioner, Richard Palk, played a pivotal role in the arrangements made between Canberra and Virtù Ferries.