Maritime humanitarian groups call for help of 1,000 rescued migrants

By Giada Zampano

ROME (AA) - SOS Mediterranee became the latest humanitarian organization to call on maritime authorities of France, Spain and Greece to provide a safe port to disembark 234 rescued migrants stranded for days in the Mediterranean after being saved by its Ocean Viking vessel.

In the past two weeks, other two charity ships, HUMANITY 1 and Geo Barents – operated by SOS Humanity and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), respectively – rescued another 751 women, children and men from unseaworthy boats found in distress in the central Mediterranean, the deadliest route for migrants trying to reach Europe after departing from Libya and other Northern African countries.

The three humanitarian ships repeatedly said they have informed maritime authorities at all steps of their search and rescue operations, stressing the urgent need for help for the almost 1,000 migrants on board.

However, they said the two closest coastal countries – Italy and Malta – left their requests unanswered for the designation of a “place of safety” to disembark the migrants in distress.

The charity organizations have denounced an implicit “ban from entering Italian ports” by Italy’s newly appointed far-right government, which recently said it was assessing the conduct of rescue ships operating in the Mediterranean in order to consider a ban on entry into Italian territorial waters.

“To this day, neither SOS Mediterranee, SOS Humanity nor MSF ships, received any official communication on such a decision, but are nevertheless facing a complete blockade in high sea and an implicit ban from entering Italian ports,” the charity groups said.

Italy’s government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has vowed a crackdown on irregular migration during its election campaign, with the new premier then calling for a “blockade” of migrant boats coming from Northern Africa and the creation of “hot spots” managed by international organizations able to avoid illegal departures.

Italy’s new Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi also confirmed in a recent interview that Rome cannot take charge of migrants rescued at sea by "foreign boats," reaffirming a tough stance adopted by former minister and League’s leader Matteo Salvini, who’s now a key ally in the Meloni government.

On Thursday, SOS Mediterranee stressed that “the situation onboard the Ocean Viking is severely deteriorating,” noting that the weather forecast is worrying and provisions onboard are running low.  

“234 lives are at risk. Many survivors show signs of torture, sexual violence and abuses from their stay in Libya,” the NGO said in a statement. “These prolonged times at sea severely impact the physical and mental well-being of those onboard, who narrowly escaped death at sea and jeopardize the safety of human life.”

After urging French, Spanish and Greek maritime authorities to provide assistance and a safe place to dock for humanitarian ships, SOS Mediterranee reminded that “this blockade at sea is not only a disgrace, but a blatant violation of International Maritime Law and Humanitarian Law.”

“Survivors retrieved from distress at sea must no longer be traded into political debates,” it added.