Italy Steps Up Clampdown on Boats Rescuing Migrants in Mediterranean Sea

Giorgia Meloni’s government has impounded a humanitarian rescue ship for the 23rd time, as Italy steps up its clampdown on irregular migration across the Mediterranean.

Médecins Sans Frontières accused Meloni’s administration of an “arbitrary and inhumane decision” after its civilian search and rescue vessel, Geo Barents, was detained this week in the port of Salerno, near Naples.

Italian authorities ordered the 60-day detention, one of the most significant seizures in an 18-month campaign against humanitarian ships operating in the Mediterranean, on Monday night after Geo Barents disembarked 191 rescued migrants at the port.

Rome accused Geo Barents of endangering lives and failing to provide prompt information to Italian authorities during a night-time rescue in the central Mediterranean early on Friday.

MSF rejects any wrongdoing and said the crew of Geo Barents intervened after seeing a significant number of people falling — or being pushed — overboard from a small fibreglass boat, as a Libyan coastguard vessel approached.

The charity said on Tuesday it had “no choice” but to carry out the rescue.

Meloni’s hard-right Brothers of Italy party has been touting her success at curbing irregular migrant inflows, following a sharp fall in the number of people reaching Italian shores without permission.

However, humanitarian groups such as MSF, Oxfam Italia and SOS Humanity have accused Rome of the “systematic obstruction of civilian search and rescue activities”, which they say is now taking a toll in human lives.

The groups filed formal complaints to Brussels more than a year ago, asking the European Commission to determine whether Rome’s rules were consistent with EU and international law. Brussels is still assessing the arguments.

{snip}

Just over 39,500 irregular migrants have arrived in Italy by sea this year, compared with 112,500 in the same period last year, and 53,400 in 2022, according to Italy’s interior ministry.

{snip}

Shortly after assuming power in late 2022, Meloni’s government issued tough new rules to limit humanitarian groups’ ability to rescue migrants at risk of drowning, and warned that vessels failing to adhere to the restrictive protocols would be impounded.

Authorities have since detained 10 humanitarian search and rescue boats operated by different charities, including one funded by street artist Banksy, for periods ranging from 20 to 60 days. Some boats have been impounded more than once.

{snip}