Ancona

The foreign ministers of Slovenia, Croatia and Italy signed a declaration in the Italian city of Ancona on 10 July committing to enhancing cooperation in the management and protection of the North Adriatic, including with a view to preventing migrant boat tragedies.

Coastal shipping sources consider the decision of Italy's Grimaldi group to add two more ships to the Greece-Italy line as a "declaration of war."

On Friday the Italian group announced it was doubling the number of ferries on the Adriatic route, with two of them sailing from Ancona to Patra and the other two from Ancona to Igoumenitsa.

The Italian Foreign Ministry, the Italian Civil Protection Department and the Greek Embassy in Rome have announced that a new operation is being planned to repatriate Greeks currently in Italy who wish to return to their home country.

The repatriation will apply to those who have lost their jobs in Italy, have nowhere to stay or have a serious health problem.

A stampede at a rap concert in an overcrowded Italian disco killed five teenagers early Saturday along with a woman who had brought her young daughter to the event, authorities said. Fifty-three people were reported injured, including 13 in very serious condition.

Minoan Lines require all passengers on domestic routes to show a photo ID before boarding. Passengers are also required to board an hour in advance before sailing on domestic voyages and two hours prior to international journeys. The Minoan statement stressed that there will be no exceptions to these new procedures.

The black box of the fire-stricken Norman Atlantic, the Italian-flagged ferry leased by Greek ANEK shipping company, failed to reveal the audio recordings as had been anticipated. Italian paper Corriere della Sera reported that the recordings were missing.

All passengers and crew were evacuated from the stranded Norman Atlantic ferry on Monday, as 10 deaths were confirmed, but rescue teams continued searching in the Adriatic Sea amid concern that dozens of people who were on board the ship may be missing.

Greece's Public Order Minister Vassilis Kikilias could not confirm on Monday claims made by a passenger rescued from the stranded Norman Atlantic ferry that four people had died on the vessel.

Rescue teams working through the night have pulled 265 people off a stricken car ferry which caught fire off the coast of Greece but more than 200 are stranded on board, the Italian navy said on Monday.

A fire broke out on the car deck of a ferry carrying 478 people from Greece to Italy early Sunday, forcing authorities to order an evacuation.

Nearby ships have been instructed to take passengers and crew members from the ferry Norman Atlantic, west of the island of Corfu, said Merchant Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis.