23. Lettera di Tonga del 16 marzo 2002

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Tonga presents its compliments to the Embassy of Italy and has the honour to acknowledge receipt of the latter’s Diplomatic Note N. 0463 dated 15 March 2002 concerning the ship called Monica which could be identified as the ship Lujin, supposedly carrying 1000 illegal immigrants and flying the Tongan flag in Italian waters.

The Ministry has further the honour to inform that this matter is a grave concern to the Government of Tonga, and that the Ministry shall respond to the above mentioned note and request, as soon as registration of the vessel in the Tongan Shipping Register is confirmed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Tonga avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Italian Embassy the assurances of its highest consideration.

Italian Embassy

WELLINGTON

16 March 2002

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Tonga presents its compliments to the Embassy of Italy and has the honour to refer to the latter’s Note N. 0463 dated 15 March 2002 concerning the vessel called Monica, which could possibly be identified as the ship Lujin.

The Ministry has further the honour to inform that there is a vessel named Lujin, registered under the Tongan Shipping Register, with the following specifications:

Type of vessel: General Cargo

Year built: 1963

Length: 66, 14 m

Breadth: 11, 32 m

Number – Type of engines: One – diesel

Call sign: A3BD9

Expiry date of registration: 18 March 2002

The Ministry wishes to inform that there has been no name change recorded for the Lujin and that some of the above mentioned specifications do not correspond with that outlined in the Embassy’s Note.

The Ministry, however, wishes to inform that if the vessel called Monica, is indeed the vessel Lujin, the authorisation to board by the Italian Authorities, for the purpose of preventing the alleged activity of trafficking of illegal immigrants, is hereby approved.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Tonga avails itself of this opportunity to renew to the Embassy of Italy the assurances of its highest consideration.

Embassy of Italy

WELLINGTON

16 March 2002