Italy has announced it will bar a German NGO rescue ship, Sea-Eye (CI), from setting sail for two months following a rescue operation on Sunday that brought over 140 migrants to Italian shores.
Authorities detained the vessel at the port of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy for 60 days, as confirmed by both parties on Monday.
The Italian authorities are holding the ship on grounds that Sea-Eye volunteers were transporting refugees on board in the Mediterranean Sea, despite the Libyan coast guard being ready to receive them.
The NGO argued that complying with such a request would have constituted a violation of international law.
The ship, bearing the same name as the organization, arrived in the city through the Strait of Sicily to the Italian mainland on Sunday, carrying 140 migrants primarily from Syria and Somalia, after a two-and-a-half-week mission.
These individuals were rescued from vessels that embarked on the perilous journey from Africa across the Mediterranean to Europe.
The Mediterranean crossing is notorious for fatal accidents, often due to the unseaworthiness of many boats used by migrants.
According to recent data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, the Mediterranean remains the deadliest migration route in 2023, with at least 3,129 reported deaths. This route saw even higher annual fatalities between 2014 and 2017.
