Rome, Jan 27 (AFP/APP): Migrant search and rescue group SOS Mediterranee said on Thursday it planned to return to Mediterranean waters after Italian authorities released its Ocean Viking ship following inspections.
The ship was detained on January 11 at the Sicilian port of Trapani after Italy’s coastguard cited various technical “irregularities” potentially compromising safety for those on board.
“We are preparing to resume our search and rescue operation in the central Mediterranean as soon as possible,” SOS Mediterranee said in a statement.
It said all the issues cited by port authorities had been corrected.
The detention came a year after the ship was blocked for five months over separate alleged safety issues.
The group has complained that it is subject to “extreme scrutiny” by authorities. It said it had been subject to five earlier port controls since the group started operations in the Mediterranean in August 2019.
Tens of thousands of people seeking to reach Europe cross the central Mediterranean each year, setting off from North Africa in what are often leaky and overcrowded boats.
More than 67,000 migrants arrived on Italy’s shores in 2021, according to Italian interior ministry figures.
Overall, the UN refugee agency estimated that around 115,000 arrived by sea last year to Italy, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, and Malta.
More than 1,800 were reported dead or missing.
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