Charities operating rescue ships in the Central Mediterranean are complaining that a new decree adopted by Italy's right-wing government will limit their rescue capacity, thus putting many lives at risk.
The Libyan coast guard reportedly ordered a Sea-Watch aircraft to leave or face being fired at with missiles. The Libyans ultimately pulled migrants from the Mediterranean before sinking their boat.
Vessels operated by private aid organizations have taken aboard dozens of migrants trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean by boat, in a string of rescue operations at the weekend. Meanwhile, over 800 migrants were intercepted off the coast of Tunisia, as good weather saw a rise in departures.
Sea rescue NGOs Open Arms and Sea-Watch have rescued and brought ashore more than 800 migrants over the weekend. The crew of the Open Arms Uno also picked up 59 survivors and one corpse from an oil rig. 800 migrants are currently waiting on the Open Arms Uno and Humanity 1 to be assigned a port.
A group of 129 people rescued at sea by German charity Sea-Eye has been brought ashore in the port of Taranto in southern Italy. Three other private rescue vessels are currently in the Central Mediterranean with rescued migrants on board.
Humanitarian ships in the Mediterranean Sea have rescued nearly 300 migrants in the last few days. On Monday three vessels were waiting for permission to bring the migrants – some of them injured – to safety.
The rescue ship Geo Barents has landed in Taranto, southern Italy, to disembark 267 people rescued over the last week. Meanwhile, the Humanity 1 currently has 111 persons on board, following its first rescure operation.
In a case involving Italy and the German migrant rescue organization Sea Watch, Europe's top court has ruled that port authorities must demonstrate a threat to "safety, health or the environment" when detaining a ship.
After waiting for around one week, 380 people rescued from the Mediterranean by the humanitarian organization SOS Mediterranee have been allowed to land in Italy. The rescue ship Ocean Viking was granted permission to make port at Salerno, south of Naples.
Three NGO rescue ships – the Geo Barents, the Ocean Viking and the Sea-Watch 3 – are currently waiting in the Central Mediterranean for a port to disembark the over 1,400 migrants they have rescued over the past week.
Three private migrant rescue ships carrying more than 500 people are waiting for a safe port in the Central Mediterranean. A fourth humanitarian vessel, the Nadir, has disembarked 19 migrants in Italy.
More than 470 migrants have disembarked from the ship Sea-Eye 4 in the port of Messina, in Sicily. Another 112 people rescued in the Mediterranean by the Spanish vessel Aita Mari also began disembarking on the Italian island.