AURORA SAR

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Detention after rescue operation

The 'Aurora SAR' has been detained in the port of Pozzallo after its crew disembarked 75 people that they had rescued in international waters on Sep 6. The boat had been assigned to the port of Reggio Calabria on the Italian mainland but it was unable to reach it due to a shortage of fuel. As a result, the MRCC in Rome changed the assigned port in the morning of Sep 7. However, the ship was eventually detained on the grounds that it could have reached Reggio Calabria contrary to its own statements and the MRCC’s decision. Commenting on the Ministry of the Interior’s decision to impound the ship, Isabell Nohr from Sea-Watch said: “The detention is based on flimsy grounds and is part of a political strategy designed to make sea rescue impossible and endanger human lives. Instead of ensuring compliance with international obligations, the Italian government is blocking recuse ships and trying by all means to prevent people fleeing their countries from reaching Europe.”

NGO ship evacuated 41 migrants

On Sep 2, the 'Aurora' has evacuated a group of 41 people from an Egyptian supply ship, after EU member state authorities refused to intervene. The migrants had been stranded at sea for six days from an Egyptian tug. The NGO had repeatedly called on Italian and Maltese authorities to intervene in the incident which took place in the Malta’s SAR zone but neither initiated a rescue. Two days earlier, a Tunisian naval vessel had arrived on the scene with the intention of forcibly taking the people to Tunisia, but they had refused to board it. Eventually, the Tunisian navy instructed the crew of the tug to allow Sea-Watch to evacuate the people.

NGO ship released by court in Agrigento

The "Aurora," operated by the German aid organization Sea-Watch, has been allowed to leave the port of Lampedusa. A court in the Sicilian city of Agrigento suspended the administrative detention that had been in effect since July 14. The boat had rescued 70 people in distress and had sailed to Lampedusa, even though the authorities had assigned them the more distant port of Pozzallo in Sicily. However, due to poor weather conditions, continuing the journey would have been irresponsible. Accordingly, the authorities had been informed of the change of course, and the "Aurora" had docked in Lampedusa with their express consent. The court found that the captain had acted in compliance with international law, and the detention was a political attempt to hinder civilian sea rescue.