Greek passenger ships are heading to Libya to collect Europeans and about 15,000 Chinese people being evacuated from the turbulent north African country.
"Three passenger ships are sailing to Tripoli to bring back European citizens to a Greek port," the Citizen Protection Ministry said in a statement. "Additionally, an operation is organised to transfer about 15,000 Chinese home through the island of Crete."
Officials said this was done at the request of their governments. Greece also sent another ship earlier today to repatriate Greeks living in Libya.
Britain is sending a charter plane to Libya to bring British nationals home and has dispatched a Royal Navy frigate to waters off Libya in case it was needed to help Britons.
"We are working closely with airlines to assist as many British nationals as possible to depart Libya ... we are making arrangements for a charter plane to travel to Libya in the next 48 hours," Foreign Secretary William Hague told reporters.
"We are urgently seeking landing clearances and permissions from the Libyan government and in support of this we will send a rapid deployment team ... to assist British nationals," he said.
He said the frigate HMS Cumberland was being redeployed from the eastern Mediterranean to international waters near Libya, in case it was needed to help British nationals.
Mr Hague also said there were "many indications of the structure of the state collapsing in many ways in Libya."
"The resignation of so many ambassadors and diplomats, reports of ministers changing sides within Libya itself, shows the system is in a very serious crisis," he said
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the European Union was suspending a framework trade agreement it had been negotiating with Libya. "I deplore the loss of life and I condemn all acts of violence," Ms Ashton told journalists in Cairo. "I call on everyone to exercise restraint," she said.
"We will be suspending the framework agreement which we are in the process of negotiating," she added.
Agencies