Sierra Leone-flagged vessel is second in four days to be abandoned by crew in rough seas in new strategy by human traffickers End of sea rescue mission ‘puts thousands at risk’

A ship carrying hundreds of migrants was on Friday being towed towards the southern Italian coast as fears grew that the human traffickers operating in the Mediterranean had found a new and ruthlessly effective way of combating the cancellation of Italy’s search and rescue policy, known as Operation Mare Nostrum.

The Sierra Leone-flagged Ezadeen was the second vessel in four days to be abandoned by its crew in rough seas, forcing the Italian authorities to intervene to prevent a disaster, and possibly the loss of many lives. In a statement, the Italian coastguard said three of its officers had taken control of the ship after landing a helicopter on it.

A photograph taken by the Icelandic coastguard of the Ezadeen. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

The Ezadeen had been drifting without power about 40 nautical miles off the coast with as many as 450 people on board. “We know that it left from a Turkish port and was abandoned by its crew,” coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini told SkyTG24 television. “When we hailed the ship to ask about its status, a migrant woman responded, saying, ‘We are alone and we have no one to help us.’”

It had been put on a collision course for the Italian coast but ran out of fuel, he said. A similar tactic was used by the crew of a ship which, on Tuesday, put out a distress call as it passed the Greek island of Corfu on its way into the Adriatic Sea.

Almost 800 migrants, mostly Syrian refugees, landed in Italy the following day after the Italian rescue services took command of the vessel. The Moldovan-registered Blue Sky M was within five miles and 45 minutes’ sailing time of a disaster when it was boarded and brought under control.

The Blue Sky M cargo ship almost crashed on to rocks off Italy’s south-eastern shore. Photograph: Reuters

On Thursday, Italian police arrested four men they claim were the skipper and crew of the Blue Sky M. Prosecutors investigating the incident believe the Syrian captain and his crew did not leave the ship, as originally believed, but mingled with the migrants after abandoning the vessel to its fate.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, said it was closely following the events surrounding the Ezadeen.

“The rescues of the Blue Sky M two days ago and of the Ezadeen show that smugglers are finding new ways to enter EU territory,” a spokesperson told AFP.

“To prevent such events and to protect the lives of migrants, fighting smuggling will continue to be a priority under the commission’s agenda for comprehensive migration in 2015,” the spokesperson said.

The Ezadeen was secured by rescue teams for towing after several hours of struggling to attach a line, Marini said. Southern Italy is currently in the grip of unusually low temperatures and high winds.

An Icelandic ship – part of a new European patrol force to aid migrants at sea – was towing the abandoned cargo vessel towards a port in the southern region of Calabria. The force was intended to fill the gap left by Operation Mare Nostrum, which had a more proactive remit to search for migrants in distress, rather than wait for them to raise the alarm after entering Italian waters.

Children and pregnant women were among the migrants – believed to be mostly Syrians – Marini said.

More than 170,000 people trying to reach Europe have been plucked from the sea by Italian rescuers in the past 14 months. But hundreds, and possibly thousands, have perished trying to make the crossing.