Tag: Italy

Italy ordered the seizure of the migrant rescue vessel 'Aquarius', after accusing the Doctors without Borders of illegally dumping toxic waste in south Italy. Responding on the accusations, MSF said that this is an attempt by Italy to undermine migrant rescue efforts. Currently, Italy has closed its ports to humanitarian ships that rescue migrants off Libya.

The European Commission stepped up its agenda to tackle tax avoidance in the yacht sector and decided to send letters of formal notice to Italy and to the UK concerning the Isle of Man, as tax breaks being applied in the pleasure craft of those regions were highlighted by last year's 'Paradise Papers' leaks.

The greatest heroin seizure of the last twenty years was carried out at the Port of Genoa. 270 kilos of heroin was found in a container coming from Iran after a long investigation by the Italian police, assisted by the staff of the Customs Agency. The container had ultimate destination the Netherlands.

Saras will construct new bunkering terminal at its plant in Sardinia in order to market a cleaner marine fuel with even lower sulphur content which will be compliant with the IMO 2020 global sulphur limit. The Italian energy provider is investing in infrastructure that will allow ships to dock outside its 300,000-barrels-per-day Sarroch refinery in Sardinia to directly load ultra-low-sulphur marine fuel oil.

The Italian vice minister for infrastructure and transport, Edoardo Rixi, has proposed the ease of taxes for companies that are sustainable and have measures to protect the environment. Mr. Rixi made this proposal during a speech ahead of the 2020 sulphur cap regulation.

Sea Shepherd’s vessel 'Sam Simon' together with Lipari’s Coast Guard, Milazzo’s Revenue and Customs Authorities, and with the collaboration of artisanal fishermen, confiscated 52 Fishing Aggregating Devices (FADs) and 100 km of polypropylene line in Italy's Aeolian Archipelago in 178 hours.

The ferry 'Ulysse' has left the Corsica and is now heading to Tunisia, as it got clearance to leave the scene of its collision with the container ship 'CSL Virginia' off the coast of Corsica in the Mediterranean, on October 7. The containership has not moved and is currently at anchor surrounded by anti-pollution boom.

Italy and Austria are cooperating to come up with a plan to process refugees on ships. Austria and Italy supported a proposal according to which, rescued refugees aboard ships in the Mediterranean will be held until their asylum claims were processed. 

The ferry 'Ulysses', which collided with the container ship 'CLS Virginia', tried to maneuver in order to separate from the container ship. The ship put its engines back, but the situation did not change. Experts appointed by the shipowners and from the Maritime Prefect are in the area, studying other ways to move the ships.

After the container ship 'CSL Virginia' collided with the ferry 'Ulysse', the container ship's hull was ruptured. As a result, a bunker spill of around 4 kilometres has been reported off Corsica. Italy and Monaco are assisting France in the clean up operation. The collision took place on Sunday, October 7.