Posted on 09/23/2018 3:16:17 PM PDT by RightGeek
MILAN (Reuters) - The Panama Maritime Authority has revoked the registration of search and rescue ship Aquarius 2 in a move that means there will be no charity rescue ships off the Libyan coast in the near future unless the vessel can find a new flag to sail under.
Aquarius 2, the one remaining charity rescue vessel still operating in the Central Mediterranean area, is currently at sea with 58 survivors on board.
The decision by the Panama Authority (PMA) means that once the ship comes into port it will be deflagged and will not be allowed to operate again unless it can find a new flag.
SOS Mediterranee, one of the charities that operates the Aquarius, said in a statement it was reeling from news of the revocation, which it said followed pressure from the Italian government.
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Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said the Italian government had applied no pressure on Panama.
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Salvini has previously accused SOS Mediterranee and other charities of acting like a Mediterranean “taxi service” for the migrants.
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(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Survivors? That’s a new one..
The media is so pathetic
#themtoo
Sounds like a good development.
Survivors?? Do they mean colonizers or invaders?? Why haven’t the Italians just SANK both boats?
Survivors of what exactly?
Tow the thing back to Tripoli, and then sink it.
I’d like to learn the backstory on this. Why did they revoke the registration?
Basically because the ship refuses to return the “rescued” migrants to Libya. See https://www.thelocal.it/20180921/italy-salvini-denies-entry-to-aquarius-migrant-rescue-boat-again
IOW, they were not operating the ship up to the high standards of Panama, *that's* how far gone the company was.
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