Two German rescue ships were temporarily detained by the Italian authorities. “Mare*Go” and “Sea-Eye 4” reportedly violated a new law. The two ships had previously rescued 86 migrants at sea.
The Italian authorities have temporarily detained the two marine rescue vessels “Mare * Go” and “Sea-Eye 4”. Both organizations’ crews had previously brought many boat migrants to Italy. The Italian coast guard said the rescue missions had violated a government law in Rome.
The law says that after a rescue, you must go to the port immediately instead of performing multiple rescues. You must also comply with the port assignment to the authorities. According to her own data, “Mary*Go” has rescued 37 Mediterranean migrants from distress at sea. The ship headed for Lampedusa, although the authorities had assigned it to the Sicilian port of Trapani.
Because of the long voyage to Trapani, your ship was not able to take care of the rescued people. “That is why we decided to go to Lampedusa,” the organization wrote on Twitter.
A new law provides for the anchoring of the ship
The CI4 ship of the aid organization of the same name brought 49 people to Ortona in Abruzzo on Friday morning. According to their own data, the crew rescued 17 people last Sunday and 32 people last Wednesday from unseaworthy wooden boats – thus fulfilling more than one mission.
The Coast Guard said that after the first rescue, the SE4 was supposed to head to Ortona immediately. Violation of the law entails the seizure of the vessel and a large fine.
This year already 50,000 immigrants
With this law, Rome tightened measures against private sea rescuers. Time and again they criticize being prevented from rescuing people in distress at sea.
In Italy, the arrival of thousands of migrants is being discussed due to the recent high migration figures via the Mediterranean route. According to official figures from the Ministry of the Interior in Rome, more than 50,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by boat since the beginning of the year – in the same period last year there were about 19,600 migrants.
