Greece on Wednesday urged the European Commission to urgently intervene and relocate the 500 migrants that Greek authorities rescued at sea on Tuesday in the latest high-profile migrant search and rescue operation in the country.
Egypt and Greece have signed two bilateral deals, including a pact to improve cooperation in migrant search and rescue missions across the Mediterranean Sea, officials said. The EU, meanwhile, is urging member states to set aside their differences over migration.
Doctors Without Borders has called for a European state search and rescue system in the Mediterranean, and for improving the distribution of migrants in the European Union. The owner of migrant rescue ship Geo Barents also said that NGOs are not responsible for the large number of arrivals in countries like Italy.
Italy continues to refuse safe harbor to three NGO vessels hoping to dock and unload nearly 1,000 rescued migrants. The situation on board those private rescue ships meanwhile is deteriorating, as Italian politicians renew their calls to have arriving migrants distributed across the EU.
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.
A sailboat carrying dozens of migrants has been towed to safety, the Greek coast guard said. Overnight, the vessel sent a distress signal after getting caught in rough waters off mainland Greece.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) claims that Malta has sent migrants back to Egypt — in violation of various international maritime conventions. The charity believes that this wasn't the first time that Malta was allegedly in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
The Geo Barents ship, operated by medical charity Doctors Without Borders, reached 122 migrants "just in time" as their boat was starting to deflate. Aid groups again called on states to coordinate search and rescue efforts in the Mediterranean.
NGO-run rescue vessels operating in the Mediterranean Sea have taken to Italy a total of 10,000 migrants during the first nine months of 2022, compared to 6,000 last year. The fleet is growing amid tensions about the future of immigration policies in Italy under the next centre-right government.
The Open Arms Uno has started disembarking 402 rescued migrants and refugees in Messina, southern Italy. Also on board is the body of a young Eritrean migrant allegedly killed by a smuggler. The charity operating the ship said he would now be given a proper burial.
Cyprus's Joint Rescue Coordination Center has picked up more than 300 migrants stranded west of Cyprus. The migrants, who were headed for Italy, will be taken to Istanbul.
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.