On Friday, the German rescue organization Sea-Eye announced that it would be working with the international NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS). The two NGOs will operate Sea-Eye’s latest boat, Sea-Eye 4, in the central Mediterranean.
The NGO is launching an additional vessel amid a spike in the number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Some 900 people have drowned making the treacherous journey from North Africa to Europe.
Italy’s coast guard is holding the Alan Kurdi private rescue vessel for the second time this year. It was taken to a shipyard in Olbia on the Italian island of Sardinia where it disembarked over 100 rescued migrants towards the end of September.
The southern French port city of Marseille has declared itself “ready to welcome” the migrant rescue ship Alan Kurdi when it arrives. On Wednesday the ship’s crew said it was heading for France after being refused entry by Italy and Malta.
On Sunday, the crew from the private rescue organization Sea-Eye announced they had taken on board 133 migrants from three different boats off the Libyan coast. Two of the rescues took place on Saturday and a further one happened on Sunday.
After close to two weeks at sea, Italy has allowed charity rescue ship Sea-Watch 4 to bring the over 350 migrants it has on board to Sicily. Meanwhile, the aunt of famous Syrian boy Alan Kurdi, who drowned in 2015 trying to reach Greece, pleaded not to "turn our back" on refugees.
The German NGO Sea-Eye is in the process of suing the Italian ministry of transport for blocking its search and rescue vessel Alan Kurdi in Sicily. The blockage has been preventing further necessary rescue missions in the Mediterranean, Sea-Eye said.
Three private humanitarian organizations -- Sea-Eye, Sea-Watch and SOS Mediterranee -- which operate rescue operations in the Mediterranean have called for the immediate release of their migrant rescue vessels, which are still blocked by Italian authorities. Among the allegations levelled against the charities by the Italian authorities are environmental pollution and transporting too many "passengers."
The Italian coast guard has impounded the rescue ship Alan Kurdi at the port of Palermo in Sicily, saying it has found "irregularities". The German-flagged vessel arrived in Italy after rescuing 150 migrants off Libya last month and being placed under coronavirus quarantine.
On Sunday, 34 migrants who had been on board the rescue ship Aita Mari, joined 146 migrants taken from another rescue ship, the Alan Kurdi, in quarantine aboard a ferry off the coast of Palermo. The migrants are expected to spend 14 days on the ferry.
The Italian government has ordered that migrants rescued by NGOs at sea must spend a period of quarantine aboard a ship, without disembarking on land. The decision unleashed controversy, with associations denouncing it as a measure against NGOs.
The global coronavirus pandemic is also affecting sea rescue operations. While the Alan Kurdi rescue vessel continues to look for safe harbor in the Mediterranean, the German interior ministry launched an appeal saying that private rescue missions should halt their activities for the time being during the COVID-19 crisis.