If a life is at risk, or could be soon, it’s search and rescue: a MAYDAY on VHF 16 if you have a radio, or 112 by phone, which reaches the Armed Forces of Malta. Always, and free. If nobody is in danger and the problem is mechanical (dead engine, empty tank, flat battery), it’s a breakdown: there’s no membership towing service in Malta that we could verify, so plan who you’d call.
Someone in the water, an injury, fire, taking on water, drifting onto rocks or offshore, the light or the weather going. Yes → MAYDAY on VHF 16, or 112. Don’t downgrade a maybe: rescuers would rather stand down than start late.
That’s a breakdown, not a rescue. Neither Transport Malta nor the AFM publishes a breakdown line, and we found no membership towing service for Maltese waters. Call your marina, a boatyard, your insurer or a boat nearby. Anchor if it’s safe, clear of swimmers’ zones and channels.
Say so early: a PAN-PAN on channel 16 is for exactly this, urgent but nobody in immediate danger. Then start your tracking link so the people ashore see you drift. If it gets worse, it’s a MAYDAY and 112.
Unlike Estonia, Finland, Sweden or Germany, Malta has no membership towing scheme we could verify. What exists:
Sources: Armed Forces of Malta and Transport Malta, checked 10 Oct 2026. If you know a towing service that operates in Maltese waters, tell us at support@vesselsos.com.
The app asks you this exact question: is anyone’s life in danger? Yes: in Maltese waters it dials 112 and shows you what to say, with a MAYDAY form for your VHF. No: it keeps 112 free. It doesn’t list a towing service in Malta, so save your marina’s or insurer’s number in your phone before you go. VesselSOS doesn’t sell towing and isn’t a rescue service.