Malta detained another humanitarian ship on Monday July 2. The ship normally rescues boat migrants off the coast of Libya, where two shipwrecks have cost the lives of 200 people recently.
The Sea Watch 3 vessel requested to leave the port after maintenance was performed to it, but the port authority refused, Reuters reported. The port authorities mentioned that the ship’s status is currently under review.
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Recently, The Dutch-flagged ship ‘Lifeline’ with about 230 rescued migrants on board for almost a week, finally docked in Malta on Wednesday, June 27. This development ends the dispute between Malt and Italy which refused to let the ship into one of its ports.
In addition, more than 100 migrants from the container ship ‘Alexander Maersk’ arrived in the southern port of Pozzallo in Sicily on Tuesday, June 26. The mayor of Pozzallo welcomed the Italian interior minister’s decision to let the ship dock.
Most recently, a humanitarian boat with 59 migrants on board was rescued off Libya and is now heading to Barcelona, after Italy and Malta refused to allow the ship dock in their ports. The ship Open Arms received authorization by Barcelona to dock there, on Saturday, June 30. In a tweet, the city’s mayor critisized Italy’s and Malta’s decision not to permit the ship to dock and informed that it will arrive in Barcelona on Wednesday, July 4.
Libya is considered one of the main departure points for migrants who want to go to Europe by sea, usually in inflatable boats that often get damaged.
Some manage to go to international waters, hoping to be picked up by international vessels, but lately more and more and being intercepted by Libya and return to the country.
About 100 people have reportedly drowned from a migrant boat off Libya’s western coast, Libyan Coast Guard informed. Libya’s Coast Guard gathered 14 survivors from the boat east of Tripoli.
