The IMO will host an inter-agency meeting on the Travelling of Migrants by Sea on 4 March.

The meeting will build on a meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in December 2014 and aims to develop "potential ways forward" such as creating an incident database to assist law enforcement agencies identify, arrest, and prosecute people smugglers. A greater control over coastal zones and ports is also sought.

Participation is expected from the UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), members of the Global Migration Group and interested IMO member states and shipping industry bodies.

"I firmly believe that there is scope for greater efforts by the international community to better manage the process of migration," IMO Secretary-General, Koji Sekimizu, said in a statement.

Europe is posed with a terrible dilemma: the humanitarian crisis - this month between 2,000 and 4,000 refugees are reported to have been rescued from the Mediterranean Sea, with several hundred more losing their lives - coupled with a significant security crisis.

International media reports this week claimed that the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) plans to infiltrate migrant flows into Europe.

The UK's Daily Mail newspaper cited transcripts from "telephone intercepts" published in the Italian press that claim to provide evidence that IS plans on sending 500,000 migrants out to sea in boats as a 'psychological weapon' against Europe if military action is taken in Libya.

Whilst the UK's Telegraph newspaper has cited plans, seen by British anti-extremist group Quilliam, which envisage IS taking over Libya "as a 'gateway' to wage war across the whole of southern Europe". The jihadists would "flood" Libya and transit the Mediterranean "posing as migrants on people trafficking vessels". The paper also refers to terrorist plans to "try to attack maritime shipping".

Mr Sekimizu said in a statement, "… People have the human right to migrate. But it is time to stop illegal, unregulated passage arranged by people smugglers. Not only do they put the lives of the migrants in danger, they also endanger the rescue services and merchant shipping which take part in the rescue operations.

"Something needs to be done against the smugglers or the situation will not improve. It is placing an intolerable strain on rescue services and on merchant vessels."