Europe Migrant Crisis:Ship Docks in ltaly Despite Ban

Another migrant ship, called the Alex, docks at the Italian coastal town of Lampedusa A charity boat carrying 41 rescued migrants defied a ban on docking at Italian ports, but hours after arriving, no-one has been allowed to leave. As night fell in Lampedusa, the crew and passengers of the Alex remained aboard, watched by police. Despite warnings, it sailed to the port on Saturday because of "intolerable hygienic conditions" aboard. Matteo Salvini, Italy's interior minister, had vowed to block them. Last year, he closed Italian ports to rescue ships and Italy has introduced fines for anyone sailing into its waters without permission. The Alex is run by the Mediterranea charity, which tweeted that its exhausted crew were living through a "surreal situation", and prolonging the wait was "an unnecessary cruelty". "It's an unbelievable situation," spokeswoman Alessandra Sciurba said at the quayside. "There are people at risk of fainting, the toilets are not working. It's as though we are kidnapped." "Nothing is happening about disembarkation and nobody knows what will happen." Police waited next to the Alex before anyone disembarked Meanwhile, another NGO ship, the Alan Kurdi - operated by German charity Sea-Eye - is afloat in international waters just outside Lampedusa, carrying another 65 people. Why is Italy refusing permission to dock? Italy has been one of the main destinations for migrants attempting to reach Europe via the North Africa route, mostly from Libya. People smugglers often load inflatable dinghies and other craft unsuited to the journey with dozens of people, many of which end up adrift and in need of rescue. Mr Salvini, from the right-wing League party, takes a hardline stance against migrants and rescue ships - something that has seen both his and his party's popularity increase. In February, it was reported that Italy had rejected a record 24,800 asylum applications between October 2018 and January. And a poll published in the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera on Saturday said 59% of Italians approved of Mr Salvini shutting Italy's ports off to NGO-run vessels. How this ship captain took on Italy's strongman Last month, new laws passed by his government by emergency decree created fines of up to €50,000 (£45,000; $56,000) for vessels that sail to Italian ports without permission. Yet just a week ago, a different ship, the Sea-Watch 3, forced a landing on Lampedusa after being stranded at sea for two weeks. Its captain, Carola Rackete, was arrested and accused of endangering the lives of police and trying to sink their boat. A judge ordered her freed, though she still faces separate charges of aiding people smugglers and resisting authorities. Italian police arrested captain Carola Rackete at the port of Lampedusa The interior minister insists that such boats be intercepted by the Libyan coast guard instead, which has received EU funding to boost its capabilities. However, the Italian judge in Ms Rackete's case ruled that neither Libya nor Tunisia were safe countries for migrants. When the Alex announced its intention to land at Lampedusa on Saturday, Mr Salvini took to Twitter to declare law enforcement agencies "ready to intervene". In an apparent reference to the court order which freed Ms Rackete, he added: "In a serious country, arrests and seizure... would be immediate: what will the judges do this time?" Why are ships heading to Italy specifically? Italy is often the closest EU country when migrants are rescued off the coast of Libya. Many rescue ships and organisations do not consider Libya a place of safety under applicable international law. When the Alan Kurdi announced it was following the Alex to Lampedusa despite the risk, it tweeted: "We are not intimidated by a Minister of Interior but instead head towards the nearest port of safety." "The law of the sea applies, even when some government representatives refuse to believe that." The so-called Libyan Coast Guard assigned us a Libyan port for the 65 persons on board. We have rejected this instruction. Earlier this week, migrants being held in a detention centre - which is where many returned migrants end up - were killed in an attack which hit the building they were in. Those who make the journey across the water are also at risk - with many boats sinking or ending up adrift. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that 681 people have died in the Mediterranean Sea so far in 2019 – 426 of them in the central region between Libya and Tunisia and Italy.