THE captain of an NGO migrant rescue ship was vindicated today after a Maltese court overturned the state’s conviction against him for entering the country’s waters without the proper registration. The island nation slapped Captain Claus-Peter Reisch with a €10,000 (£8,497) fine last May for sailing without a flag – a legal requirement for allContinue reading “Captain of NGO migrant rescue ship wins legal appeal against Malta”
Tag Archives: Malta
‘It shouldn’t be civil society versus European governments’
SOS Mediterranee’s DAVID STARKE tells Ben Cowles how EU member states have abandoned their commitments to international maritime and refugee laws when it comes to rescues carried out by the civil rescue fleet THE Ocean Viking, a refugee rescue ship operated jointly by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), saved the lives of 60Continue reading “‘It shouldn’t be civil society versus European governments’”
EU anti-refugees policies have ‘reached yet another low,’ NGO charges
Alarm Phone details troubling conversation with Maltese maritime authorities which allowed the Libyan Coastguard to intercept a migrant boat within its search and rescue area EUROPE’S anti-refugee policies have reached new depths, a human rights organisation said today after detailing troubling conversations with the Maltese maritime authorities. Last Friday afternoon, Alarm Phone, an activist networkContinue reading “EU anti-refugees policies have ‘reached yet another low,’ NGO charges”
Malta allows Libyan Coastguard to intercept a migrant boat within its own search and rescue zone
ACTIVISTS accused the Maltese maritime authorities of violating international refugee laws in two separate events in the Mediterranean this weekend. The first incident happened on Friday afternoon after Alarm Phone, a network which provides support for people crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, alerted the Maltese Armed Forces of a migrant boat in distress within itsContinue reading “Malta allows Libyan Coastguard to intercept a migrant boat within its own search and rescue zone”
EU border policies have turned the sea into a refugee graveyard, civil migrant rescue fleet charges
THE EU’s border policies have turned the Mediterranean Sea into a refugee graveyard, NGOs charged today after photos emerged of some of the people who died in a recent shipwreck six miles off the coast of Lampedusa. The people pictured on the sea bed by the Italian coastguard drowned after the wooden boat carrying approximatelyContinue reading “EU border policies have turned the sea into a refugee graveyard, civil migrant rescue fleet charges”
NGO rescue ships dismayed by EU’s failure to agree to migrant disembarkation plans
THE civil refugee rescue fleet has expressed dismay over the EU’s failure yesterday to agree to a temporary scheme to distribute refugees saved from a watery grave in the Mediterranean. The emergency mechanism put to the meeting of EU interior ministers in Luxembourg yesterday was drafted by France, Germany, Italy and Malta last month afterContinue reading “NGO rescue ships dismayed by EU’s failure to agree to migrant disembarkation plans”
Civil refugee rescue fleet searches for survivors of migrant shipwreck
Meanwhile Malta agrees to take in rescued migrants on board the Open Arms THE civil refugee rescue fleet was searching for survivors in the Mediterranean today after a wooden boat carrying approximately 70 people sank near Lampedusa on Sunday night. The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) reported in the morning that 40 people had been rescuedContinue reading “Civil refugee rescue fleet searches for survivors of migrant shipwreck”
Bleeding pregnant woman one of 45 migrants rescued from wooden ship near Malta
A BLEEDING pregnant woman in need of urgent medical care was one of approximately 45 migrants on board a stranded wooden boat in Malta’s territorial waters today. At 8am this morning the boat she was on contacted Alarm Phone, an independent support service for migrants attempting to reach Europe from across the Mediterranean, saying theyContinue reading “Bleeding pregnant woman one of 45 migrants rescued from wooden ship near Malta”
Italy claims EU agrees deal to take in migrants on the Ocean Viking but crew says it’s not been given a port
THE NGO migrant rescue ship Ocean Viking with 82 migrants on board remains at sea without a port of safety despite Italy declaring yesterday that it had reached a deal with EU countries to take them in. Yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his new government, along with the Democratic Party, had reached aContinue reading “Italy claims EU agrees deal to take in migrants on the Ocean Viking but crew says it’s not been given a port”
Malta finally allows migrants on board the Alan Kurdi to disembark after a ten day stand-off
MALTA has finally agreed this evening to allow an NGO migrant rescue ship with five survivors on board to enter its ports, putting an end to yet another humanitarian stand-off in the Mediterranean Sea. Ten days ago, the Alan Kurdi — a vessel operated by the German charity Sea Eye — rescued 13 young menContinue reading “Malta finally allows migrants on board the Alan Kurdi to disembark after a ten day stand-off”
The Civil Fleet 