At 9 am this morning, Irish Navy Vessel, LÉ Eithne were involved in another rescue operation.
They located and rescued a small craft with 12 people on board.
LÉ Eithne received a distress message last night from Italian Search and Rescue Authorities.
The crew searched all night, using extra lookouts and spotted the craft shortly before 8 am.
The ship had gotten into distress around 30 miles north of Lampedusa, the largest of the Italian Pelagie islands.
The fibreglass hulled boat, approximately 6 metres in length, departed from Tripoli 5 days ago, containing 12 passengers, all male.
The Defence Force said that the people who were recovered were “dehydrated but alive”. They are being cared for by Navy and Army medical staff.
There was no fuel, food or water found on board.
Last month, LÉ Eithne were involved in the rescue of 200 migrants off the coast of Libya. The crew have rescued 649 migrants to safety so far.