ROME, Nov 6 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Children and sick or vulnerable people are expected to be allowed off a German-flagged rescue vessel by Italy but other migrants on board may be sent back into international waters despite worsening weather conditions.
The Humanity 1, run by German charity SOS Humanity and carrying 179 migrants, has been requested by Italian authorities to come the port of Catania, its press officer said.
The Humanity 1 is one of four humanitarian ships off Sicily which have requested permission to bring those rescued to safety in Italy as conditions at sea worsen in bad weather. The four vessels are carrying over 1,000 people saved in the Mediterranean.
So far it is the only one that has been ordered to enter the harbour.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said that vulnerable people would be let off the Humanity 1, after which the ship would have to “remove” the remaining migrants from Italian waters.
Italy’s new far-right government, which was sworn in last month, has vowed to crack down on boat migrants coming from North Africa to Europe.
Piantedosi said the government would not “back pedal” on its humanitarian obligations, but those who do not “qualify… must leave our territorial waters and been taken care of by the flag state” — a reference to the national flags under which the vessels sail.
Two of the charity boats — the Humanity 1 and Mission Lifeline charity’s Rise Above — sail under the German flag while SOS Mediterranee’s Ocean Viking and Doctors Without Borders’ Geo Barents are registered in Norway.
The Norwegian foreign ministry said it bore “no responsibility” for those rescued by private Norwegian-flagged ships in the Mediterranean.
There were “lots of babies” on board the Rise Above which needed to immediately be provided with a safe port, Hermione Poschmann from Mission Lifeline said. The youngest of the 42 minors it is carrying are just seven and 10-months old.
The ship was off Catania after seeking shelter from bad weather. The ship usually transfers those it rescues to the bigger charity vessels, but they have no space for them.
The Geo Barrents, run by Doctors Without Borders and currently carrying 572 rescued people, said it had also entered Italian waters to seek shelter “after requesting and receiving permission from the authorities”.
“We have been waiting for more than 10 days for a safe landing place,” mission head Juan Matias Gil said. — NNN-AGENCIES
