Italy has detained a rescue ship operated by a German non-governmental organization on Wednesday, marking the third charity ship to be detained this week under strict new immigration rules imposed by the right-wing government. The temporary detention of the three ships, all of which were held in ports after completing rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea, comes as the number of migrants arriving in Italy continues to rise despite efforts by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to curb the influx.
The German ship "Sea Eye 4" was detained after transporting 114 migrants to the port of Salerno in the south of the country, and was informed that it could not set sail for 20 days. The Sea Eye group stated that they were also fined nearly three thousand euros (3,240 dollars). This is the second time the ship has been detained this year.
The second charity ship, Aurora, operated by the German organization Sea-Watch, was detained on Monday after transporting 76 migrants to the island of Lampedusa, while the Spanish rescue ship Open Arms was detained on Tuesday in the port of Carrara in Tuscany after saving 195 people.
Arnaud Banos, head of the Sea Eye 4 mission, stated: "This is a politically motivated assault on humanitarian work, and it will cost lives." No immediate comment was available from the Italian Coast Guard.
A law approved by the Italian Parliament in February mandates that ships operated by charities must head directly to port after a rescue, preventing them from conducting multiple operations at sea. The Italian authorities also instruct ships to head to ports that may be hundreds of kilometers away in some cases. The Aurora was detained after it refused orders to sail to Sicily, opting instead to dock in Lampedusa, which was much closer, citing that fuel and drinking water were running low.
