Panama pulls migrant rescue boat's registration

International Desk: A rescue vessel operating in the central Mediterranean Sea has had its registration revoked, leaving its future operations in jeopardy.

When the Aquarius next docks, it will have to remove its Panama maritime flag and cannot set sail without a new one.

It is the last private rescue ship operating in the area used for crossings from Libya to Europe.

The charities who run the vessel accuse the Italian government of pressuring Panama into deflagging the Aquarius.

The two groups who lease it, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and SOS Mediterranée, say they were notified of the decision by the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) on Saturday.

The authority is said to have described the ship as a "political problem" for the country's government, and said Italian authorities had urged them to take "immediate action" against them, according to SOS Mediterranée.

Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who has previously described the aid boats as a "taxi service" for migrants, denies his country put pressure on Panama.

On Sunday, he tweeted he "didn't even know" what prefix Panama has for telephone calls.

Mr Salvini has been a prominent figure in a public immigration crackdown in Italy since his government, a coalition between the right-wing League party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, came to power in June.

He has frequently came into conflicts with rescue ship operators and last month was involved in a public stand-off about the disembarkation of 150 migrants on a coast guard ship on the island of Sicily.

According to United Nations, more than 1,700 migrants have died trying to cross to Europe in 2018.

Agencies


risingbd/Dhaka/Sep 24, 2018/Nasim