A humanitarian ship funded by British street artist Banksy was seized in Lampedusa on Sunday after rescuing 178 refugees and migrants. Authorities said it had breached new rules for ships operated by non-governmental organizations carrying out search and rescue in the central Mediterranean Sea.
Between Friday and Sunday, 288 migrants disembarked three NGO ships in Italy. More than 1,000 migrants were also rescued by the Italian authorities or arrived by sea on Italy's southern coasts.
Geo Barents rescued 48 migrants from a wooden boat off the coast of Libya while Ocean Viking rescued 84 migrants from a crammed rubber dinghy. Both ships have been assigned ports much further north in the Adriatic ports of Ancona and Ravenna.
Just a few years ago Astoun escaped his native Syria, crossing perilous waters to reach Europe. Now, aboard the Ocean Viking, he rescues people doing the same across the Mediterranean.
More than 300 migrants have been rescued over the last few days by the private rescue ships Ocean Viking and Geo Barents, run by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors without Borders MSF respectively.
The prefecture of the Marches city of Ancona has decided where to house the migrants who have reached the Adriatic port city on board NGO-run migrant-rescue ships Ocean Viking and Geo Barents.
Over half of irregular migrants who arrived in Malta in 2022 reportedly came from Asian countries. Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said they originated from places where "no war was taking place".
The crew of the Geo Barents rescue ship completed the disembarkation of the 73 rescued migrants in the Italian port of Ancona on Thursday. The ship is the second NGO ship to dock in the port this week.
Sea rescue NGOs and Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi have clashed after the arrival in the port of Ancona of the migrant-rescue vessel Ocean Viking with 37 migrants on board.
The Ocean Viking private rescue vessel, run by the aid organization SOS Mediterranee, has rescued 37 migrants in distress off the coast of Libya on Saturday. Later that same day, the team on board the Geo Barents vessel, run by MSF, rescued 73 people.
The charity rescue ship Ocean Viking has set sail for its first mission in 2023. On board, the crew is coming to grips with a new Italian law restricting their ability to rescue people in distress at sea. Frey Lindsay reports for InfoMigrants.
On December 31st, in the presence of dozens of police, coast guard officials and medics, the Ocean Viking rescue ship disembarked the last of 113 migrants at the port of Ravenna in northern Italy. Frey Lindsay reports for InfoMigrants.