By Chris Scicluna and Darrin Zammit Lupi VALLETTA, March 28 (Reuters) – A small tanker that was hijacked by migrants off Libya docked in Malta’s port of Valletta on Thursday after Maltese special forces took control of the vessel, Reuters witnesses said. Cargo ship Elhiblu 1 had picked up 108...
mediterranean migrant crisis
Hijacking of Oil Tanker Is a Turning Point in the Migrant Crisis
By Caroline Alexander (Bloomberg) — Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini called them “pirates.” But the women and children who disembarked from a cargo ship hijacked by migrants in European waters were simply desperate. They were among the 108 people escaping what human rights groups say is...
Migrants Hijack Merchant Ship Off Libya
ROME, March 27 (Reuters) – Migrants have hijacked a merchant ship which rescued them off the coast of Libya and it is now heading towards Malta, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini and Maltese authorities said on Wednesday. The 108 migrants were picked up by the cargo ship Elhiblu 1 and...
Pope Appeals for Safe Ports for Migrant NGO Ships
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Pope Francis urged European leaders on Sunday to stop bickering over the fate of 49 migrants stuck aboard two humanitarian rescue ships on the Mediterranean and let them land at a safe port of call. With his comments in an address to 60,000 people...
Italy Accuses NGO Migrant Ship of Dumping Toxic Waste
By Davide Barbuscia ROME, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Italian magistrates on Tuesday accused the Doctors without Borders (MSF) charity of illegally dumping toxic waste at ports in southern Italy in what MSF said was an attempt to undermine migrant rescue efforts. Magistrates ordered the MSF-operated ship...
Italy’s Closure to Rescue Ships Drives Up Sea Deaths -Think Tank
By Steve Scherer ROME, Oct 1 (Reuters) – Italy’s closing of its ports to rescued migrants is driving up deaths at sea, an Italian think tank said on Monday, using calculations based on numbers collected by U.N. agencies. Since taking power in June, Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who heads the...
Portugal, Spain, France, Germany Agree to Take in Aquarius Ship Migrants
By Michel Rose PARIS/LISBON, Sept 25 (Reuters) – France, Portugal, Spain and Germany struck a deal on Tuesday to take in migrants from the Mediterranean rescue ship Aquarius sailing off the coast of Malta, the French government said, after Italy refused to let the vessel dock. The agreement marks...
Panama Revokes Registration of Last Migrant Rescue Ship in Central Mediterranean
MILAN, Sept 23 (Reuters) – The Panama Maritime Authority has revoked the registration of search and rescue ship Aquarius 2 in a move that means there will be no charity rescue ships off the Libyan coast in the near future unless the vessel can find a new flag to sail under. Aquarius 2, the one […]