Migration crisis: SOS Méditerranée ship finally authorized to sail

Ocean Viking, NGO SOS Méditerranée’s migrant rescue ship, He was detained by the Italian authorities for 10 days The man, who accused him of safety lapses, has been authorized to return to sea, the France-based NGO announced on Friday.

“Comply with all regulations”

“Ten days after the detention of the Ocean Viking in the port of Civitavecchia (near Rome), the Italian authorities admitted that the vessel … was in fact in compliance with all applicable regulations, as confirmed by the Norwegian authorities of the flag state (of the vessel). The immobilization was therefore lifted without substantial changes to the certificate, crew or life-saving equipment”, the NGO headquartered in Marseille (south-east France) indicated in a press release. This is especially the point of the life rafts that led to the ambulance ship being extended without being moved by the Italian authorities.

“Questions” About Rome’s Motives

“We are very relieved to be able to resume our recovery operations in mid-summer, which has been interrupted for a season. Maximum crossings of migrants, Sophie Beau, director and co-founder of SOS Méditerranée, told AFP by phone. “But even when there are no rescue boats in this part of the central Mediterranean, we cannot spend much time at sea,” he lamented, adding that the “blocking” of the Ocean Viking “raises questions about the motives” of the Italian authorities. Since Ocean Viking was chartered by the NGO in the summer of 2019, the ship has undergone seven checks, an “unusually high number,” Sophie Beau underlined.

The world’s most dangerous migration route

The date for the resumption of operations has not yet been set, but will be done as soon as possible, once the crew returns to Civitavecchia and the refueling is carried out: “It’s a few days”, the manager estimated that the ship should depart “at the end of July, at the beginning of August”.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Central Mediterranean is the world’s most dangerous migration route. The UN agency estimates that 1,931 migrants have disappeared there since the start of 2023. Since coming to power in 2022, the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni, in which Anti-Immigration League leader Matteo Salvini is deputy prime minister, has stepped up measures to clamp down on the activities of migrant relief NGOs.

(AFP)