Maersk ship migrant rescue

Italy’s hardline stance causes issues.

Maersk Boxship Delayed due to EU Migration Debate

The container ship Alexander Maersk has been delayed off Sicily with 113 maritime migrants aboard as Europe’s debate over maritime migration continues. The delay confirms an earlier warning from the International Chamber of Shipping about the dispute’s effects on merchant ships, which are obligated to rescue individuals in distress.

ICS has warned that shipping will bear a greater burden of rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean now that Italy is blocking NGO search and rescue operations. “Following the election of the new Italian Government, the crisis now seems to be taking an ever more political direction,” ICS said in a recent statement. “If NGO vessels are prevented from disembarking rescued persons in Italy, this would also have significant implications for merchant ships and the movement of trade throughout the Mediterranean, as merchant ships would again have to become involved in a greater number of rescues.”

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Source: maritime-executive.com