The Italian coastguard blocked on Friday in the port of Palermo (Sicily, south) a migrant rescue vessel belonging to the German NGO Sea-Eye for non-compliance with security rules, they announced on Saturday.
“
An inspection revealed various irregularities of a technical nature likely to endanger not only the safety of the crew members but also that of the people who were or who could in the future be recovered on board during operations of help,
”the coast guard said in a statement.
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Among other things, "
the inspection confirmed that the ship's life-saving equipment is sufficient for a maximum number of 27 people (...) which means that in an emergency the crew would not be able
" to guarantee the evacuation of all persons on board, they added, specifying that the ship was subject to "
administrative detention until the rectification of the irregularities noted
".
The hospital ship of the German organization was moored at the port of Palermo after disembarking 415 migrants in the Sicilian port of Pozzallo and observed a period of quarantine imposed by the health authorities. In a statement to AFP on Saturday, the German NGO denounced the decision of the Italian authorities against their rescue vessel, the Sea-Eye 4. “
As for other civilian rescue vessels, the same reasons techniques are now invoked to put an end to the missions of the SEA-EYE 4
”, she lamented.
"
The argument is still that German rescue ships routinely save too many people from drowning and are incorrectly certified for this humanitarian purpose,
" Sea-Eye Chairman Gorden Isler said in the statement.
“
Our captain fulfilled his duty of rescue at sea in an exemplary manner.
He saw emergencies at sea and carried out a safe rescue.
EU states can learn from it,
”he added.
This was the first mission of the Sea-Eye 4, which had left the Rostock shipyard (northern Germany) in mid-April to head for the Mediterranean.
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Italy is one of the main entry points into Europe for migrants from North Africa, mainly from Tunisia and Libya, from where departures are up sharply compared to previous years. 15,000 people have arrived on the Italian coast since January, almost three times more than at the same time in 2020, according to the Interior Ministry.