Rome immobilizes the humanitarian ship of SOS Méditerranée for “technical and administrative problems”

Vessel ocean viking stay at dock. By decision of the Italian authorities, the boat of the humanitarian NGO SOS Méditerranée is immobilized in the port of Civitavecchia, north of Rome (Italy), when it had just disembarked 57 migrants rescued at sea. This administrative measure by the guards – italian ribs a “an indefinite period” because the inspection to which the ship was subjected revealed “a few small technical and administrative problems”, according to a press release from SOS Méditerranée.

According to the NGO, one of these problems “unfortunately requires further investigation, which involves various certification and shipowner stakeholders” of the ship. For SOS Méditerranée, the Italian authorities have “a restrictive interpretation of the SOLAS convention, an international agreement which establishes minimum safety criteria for the construction, equipment and operation of ships”. An official of SOS Méditerranée Italy interviewed by telephone by AFP, Francesco Creazzo, specified that the problem raised by the Italian coast guard concerned the number of lifeboats present on the ship.

A previous inspection of the Ocean Viking in 2020 had imposed 14 lifeboats, a number calculated based on the number of people rescued and not the size of the crew. However, the last inspection to date called for one specialized operator per lifeboat, therefore 14 people, the presence of a single specialized operator no longer being sufficient, according to this restrictive interpretation of the Italian authorities, according to the NGO. Asked by AFP about the reasons for this immobilization, the Italian coastguards did not respond immediately.