Aquarius, Wikipedia
The diplomatic spat between Italy and Britain over 141 migrants currently on board a Gibraltar-flagged vessel has taken a new turn after Italy demanded that Britain take in the migrants.
Published: August 14, 2018, 9:06 am
Salvini refuses NGO migrant rescue vessel from Malta
Aquarius: Macron denounces Italy's 'cynicism' and 'irresponsibility'
Salvini blocks two more NGO vessels from entering Italian portsItalians massively support Salvini's blocking of migrant vessel
Army of Spanish volunteers to welcome migrants
Aquarius 'refugees' dump their donated clothes in the trash
Spain is experiencing huge surge in human traffic after Italian clampdownAquarius heading for EU again with 140 Africans on boardThe Gibraltar Maritime Administration (GMA) has now announced that it would strip the migrant rescue vessel Aquarius of its Gibraltar registration, SkyNews reported.
The “notice of removal” was issued by the GMA, citing its registration as a “survey vessel” which was in fact being used for rescue work. Due to be officially revoked on 20 August, the vessel’s registration will revert back to Germany since the owner is German.
The British government quickly moved to strip the vessel of its UK status after Italy demanded Britain take in the 141 migrants on board because of its Gibraltar flag registration.
The head of state of Gibraltar is the British monarch, represented by the Governor of Gibraltar. The governor is responsible to the British government in respect of defence, foreign policy, internal security.
The news came after Italy’s transport minister Danilo Toninelli demanded that Britain open its ports to the Aquarius. Toninelli said the UK was responsible for the migrants.
The Aquarius is currently in international waters between Italy and Malta waiting for a country to grant them a port of disembarkation.
The French-German charity SOS Mediterranee, which lease and operate the Aquarius with Medicines Sans Frontiers, is furious over the Gibraltar government’s decision.
The charity said in a statement that the move “attests a deliberate will to stop the rescue activity of the Aquarius, one of the last civil and humanitarian rescue ships in the Mediterranean”.
The charity claimed that it had “satisfied, for the last two years, all regulatory requests arising from the competencies of the Gibraltar Flag State, and all technical controls regarding security and safety of the ship. No deficiencies were ever reported”.
It added: “While for the last two and half years, the Aquarius has conducted more than 200 search and rescue (SAR) operations, in complete transparency and regularly informing all competent authorities, the Gibraltar Maritime Authority is disguising a political manoeuvre behind an incoherent argument.”
The charity says that Gibraltar has been fully aware that the Aquarius has been used as a rescue ship. It appears that the Gibraltar Maritime Authority itself had registered the Aquarius as a search and rescue vessel with the International Maritime Organisation.
According to the charity there is no “technically founded” difference between a survey and a rescue vessel.
But SkyNews has since obtained the maritime maps which show the precise location of the latest migrant rescues by the vessel. It clearly shows that the closest ports are in Libya and Tunisia.
However, Tunisia has routinely refused to allow migrant vessels to dock without fear of reprisals, while rescue charities have consistently refused to take migrants back to Libya.
This latest standoff comes less than two months after another diplomatic incident involving the Aquarius in June when Italy refused the vessel.
Spain then allowed the Aquarius to sail on to Valencia, but it now claims that the Aquarius is too far away to come to Spain, a source in the government told Sputnik News on Monday.
A down-swing of some 80 percent in arrivals from Africa have been noted after the Italian government recently closed its ports to boats which rescue migrants.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 60 000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea in 2018.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
BudapestAt the end of April, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that there were now more vaccines available than people wanting them. Hungary is the only such state in Europe.
ParisA former student, of Pakistani origin, had fatally stabbed this teacher in front of the Leonardo da Vinci university in the suburbs of the city of Paris in December 2018.
BaselThe city of Basel offers a travel voucher to beggars who, in exchange, undertake not to return to the city for at least a certain period of time under penalty of permanent expulsion from the country.
RambouilletIn the wake of the murder of Samuel Paty, the Tunisian jihadist involved in the Rambouillet beheading wrote on Facebook: “O Muslims, now we will respond to the insults from France.” Two months later, he obtained his residence permit.
SheffieldSir Isaac Newton's historical legacy amounts to “colonial-era activity” and must be scrapped to “decolonise” the engineering curriculum at Sheffield University in the UK.
KasselWith its special edition “Antifa - The underground leftist power”, COMPACT, a conservative German magazine has stirred up a hornets' nest. A left-wing politician even wants to have journalistic research banned.
BerlinA confidential report by the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND), revealed how the Nigerian mafia has taken root to establish itself in Germany through the influx of migrants. There are now several different Mafia groups operating in Germany.
BrusselsWith the dominant position the EU has granted to Pfizer, in particular by ruling out the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, it is once again proving that its rules are of variable geometry because European treaties outlaw monopolies.
ParisThe lack of commitment on the left in the Sarah Halimi affair in France, has deeply shocked many. The murderer of Sarah Halimi, Kobili Traoré, will not be tried for his crime, according to his judges. But the victim is also being killed for a second time by silence.
