Italian authorities have detained the Ocean Viking, a migrant rescue ship that rescued dozens of people off the coast of Libya, for 20 days on suspicion of failing to follow a prescribed route, the ship’s operator announced on Sunday.
“Ocean Viking has been detained for the second time in two months under the ‘Piante de Si Decrees’, which punishes humanitarian rescue workers for carrying out life-saving operations in the central Mediterranean that are not carried out by European countries,” the French city said. SOS Mediterranean based in Marseille, said in X.
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Italian authorities have detained the Ocean Viking, a migrant rescue ship that rescued dozens of people off the coast of Libya, for 20 days on suspicion of failing to follow a prescribed route, the ship’s operator announced on Sunday.
“Ocean Viking has been detained for the second time in two months under the ‘Piante de Si Decrees’, which punishes humanitarian rescue workers for carrying out life-saving operations in the central Mediterranean that are not carried out by European countries,” the French city said. SOS Mediterranean based in Marseille, said in X.
The ship said it was ordered to return directly to the Italian port of Bari after rescuing 244 people, including 18 unaccompanied minors and four children under the age of four, in three rescue operations.
However, the Ocean Viking, which was en route to Bari, received an alert about 15 nautical miles (about 28 kilometers) from its location that at least 70 migrants were in need of help, when in reality the small boat was It was about 60 nautical miles away.
“As there was no indication that another vessel was en route to assist those in distress, there was no other option legally or morally to respond to this alert. It was a violation of international law,” SOS Mediterrane said. he told AFP.
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In the end, the Vikings were unable to help and resumed sailing towards Bari. It did not say whether the migrants were subsequently rescued.
Italian authorities had already detained the ship for 20 days and fined it 3,300 euros (about $3,600) on November 15 for failing to coordinate its response with authorities.
According to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2,678 migrants have gone missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe since January 2023.
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