Rescue ship refuses to leave Italy’s Catania port until all allowed to disembark

On Sunday, the civil rescue ship Humanity 1 refused to leave Italy’s Sicilian port of Catania after the Italian government said it would not allow all asylum-seekers onboard to disembark.
Italian authorities had allowed 144 of the 179 passengers previously rescued from distress at sea and in need of urgent medical care to disembark the vessel.
The Italian government also issued a decree prohibiting Humanity 1 from remaining in Italy’s territorial waters longer than “necessary to ensure rescue and assistance operations” for particularly vulnerable people.
SOS Humanity, the German NGO responsible for Humanity 1, said it would take legal action against the Italian government’s “illegal” decree and for not allowing 35 survivors to go ashore.
The captain of Humanity 1 said he would not be leaving port until all survivors were allowed to disembark the vessel.