The Italian Financial Guard has order the arrest of Eleonore rescue ship belonging to the German non-governmental organization Lifeline with 101 rescued migrants on board after it entered Italy's territorial waters, media reported on Monday
ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd September, 2019) The Italian Financial Guard has order the arrest of Eleonore rescue ship belonging to the German non-governmental organization Lifeline with 101 rescued migrants on board after it entered Italy's territorial waters, media reported on Monday.On Tuesday, the vessel Eleonore was banned by the Italian authorities from approaching Italy's coast. The vessel headed to Italy after saving migrants off the Libyan coast.
Earlier in the day, the captain of the vessel said that there was an emergency situation on board and decided to dock in the port city of Pozzallo on the Italian island of Sicily.
According to the Rainews24 channel, a Financial Guard motorboat departed in direction of the vessel to hand over the the seizure warrant. The ship will be seized after the migrants leave the vessel in Pozzallo.
The ban on entering Italian waters by ships of various NGOs involved in rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean sea has been in force since last summer. At the same time, ships with migrants usually manage to dock in Italian ports after the situation on board becomes difficult, and various European countries express their willingness to receive migrants.
In August, the Open Arms rescue ship with over 100 migrants on board was not allowed to dock in the Italian port of Lampedusa for 19 days. Only after the situation got unbearable and some migrants jumped off the ship, the authorities allowed the vessel to enter the port, after which it was also arrested.
