The Irish ship LE Samuel Beckett has rescued just under 220 people off the Libyan coast this morning.
85 migrants were located drifting on board a 12-metre long rubber boat about 40 miles northeast of the Lybian capital, Tripoli. A short time later, a similar craft carrying 133 people was spotted nearby.
The LE Samuel Beckett and its predecessors, LE Eithne and LE Niamh, have rescued nearly 8,000 from the perilous Mediterranean waters.