MARSEILLE: Aid group SOS Mediterranee on Thursday accused Italy of hampering its work after the authorities there ordered its migrant rescue ship Ocean Viking held “for an indefinite period” in port.

Officials had cited “a very small number of technical and administrative shortcomings,” said the aid group.

Having the ship blocked in the port of Civitavecchia, north of Rome, “prevents us from carrying out rescue operations” for migrants in the Mediterranean, the NGO’s co-founder and director Sophie Beau said.

The authorities were creating a “very harmful” environment for civil society groups looking to aid migrants, she added.

Italy’s government has since last year been led by far-right Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, whose coalition — also including Matteo Salvini of the anti-migrant League party — has cracked down on help for migrants.

On Thursday, five charities that assist migrants said they had complained to the European Commission about a new Italian law forcing rescue shops in the Mediterranean to dock in ports assigned to them — often much farther away and requiring days of extra sailing.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2023