(AFP) Italian authorities have detained a migrant rescue vessel run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) for allegedly breaking new government rules on life-saving missions in the Mediterranean, the charity said Friday.
The Geo Barents ship was impounded late Thursday for 20 days and will be fined between 2,000 euros ($2,100) and 10,000 euros ($10,590), MSF spokesman Maurizio Debanne said.
The charity said it had been accused of failing to share information, including voyage data recorder (VDR) information on the position and movement of the ship, something it says it has never before been asked to share.
Debanne linked the detention of the ship, which is in Sicily, to a new decree introduced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government.
