Malta has stopped a second migrant rescue ship from leaving its port, as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reported over 200 migrant deaths at sea in three days.
German charity Sea-Watch said in a statement published on its website that the Sea-Watch 3 vessel had been “detained in Malta, without any legal grounds provided by authorities”.
The decision by Malta to detain the ship comes just days after Lifeline, another charity boat, was impounded after it docked in Malta carrying more than 200 migrants on Wednesday.
EU leaders accuse the Lifeline of breaking international law by picking up migrants off the Libyan coast and illegally flying the Dutch flag.
Yesterday Sea-Watch said that Malta was waging a “political campaign” to stop rescues at sea.
“While rescue assets are blocked in port, recent days have become the deadliest this year,” the charity warned.
Sea-Watch said that its ship was correctly registered with the Dutch authorities.
The vessel is “listed in the royal shipping register as a Dutch seagoing vessel” and is “fully entitled to fly the Dutch flag”, the charity said.
EU leaders are cracking down on charity rescue boats as the bloc grapples with how to handle the influx of people trying to reach the continent.
Several EU leaders have accused NGO ships of aiding human traffickers, saying they should let the Libyan coastguard co-ordinate rescue missions and take the migrants back to Libya.
But charities argue the migrants would not be safe in Libya, where they have faced abuse and rape in holding centres.
Crew members of the Sea-Watch protest outside the court house in Valletta during the arraignment of Claus-Peter Reisch, the captain of the charity ship MV Lifeline.
