An NGO vessel that rescued a group of distressed migrants last week is stranded at sea once again as the Maltese and Italian authorities insist it is not their responsibility to help coordinate the disembarkation.
Sea-Watch 3 rescued 47 migrants last Saturday in the waters between Malta and Libya, however days later they remain without a safe port where to disembark their “guests”. The rescue took place about 50 kilometres off the coast of Tripoli.
A spokesman for the NGO on Monday told Times of Malta that while they had made contact with the Maltese and Italian authorities, both were adamant that the vessel should instead reach out to their Libyan counterparts as they were the competent rescue coordinating authority.
The spokesman said repeated efforts to contact the Libyan coast guard and other Libyan authorities in recent days had proven unsuccessful as they remained unresponsive.
And, even if the NGO heard back from the Libyan authorities, they would not be prepared to disembark the migrants in Libyan as the country did not meet the international standards of a safe port.
The Sea-Watch 3 is no stranger to being marooned.“If the Libyan authorities direct us to a safe port then yes we will follow those instructions, but, no, we are not prepared to disembark in Libya,” the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister said only that Malta was “neither the appropriate nor the competent authority”.
The Sea-Watch 3 is no stranger to being marooned.
Migrants on board the vessel and another ship spent 19 days just off the coast of Malta before the government announced two weeks ago that they would be allowed to disembark.
The migrants, who will be shared with Germany, France, Portugal, Ireland, Romania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy, were refused entry first by Italy – which was legally bound to allow them in – and then by Malta.
After some three weeks at sea, and with rough weather forecast, an agreement was finally reached on a distribution deal.
Meanwhile, the SeaWatch group tweeted on Sunday afternoon that it was heading toward a vessel that was taking on water with 100 migrants aboard.
The migrants were rescued by a cargo ship, flying a Sierra Leone flag after it had been asked by Libyan authorities to intervene.
The NGO spokesman said the organisation was concerned that the migrants would be taken to Libya as this would constitute a violation of their human rights.