In Bari, a southern Italian port city, authorities resumed processing after the humanitarian ship Geo Barents, operated by Doctors Without Borders MSF, conducted a rescue that saved 190 migrants from the central Mediterranean. The operation followed a 20 day blockage and a fine imposed earlier, as part of a broader crackdown on NGO activities. The intervention came amid a new government policy under far right premier Giorgia Meloni that has limited NGO movements in the Central Mediterranean, prompting MSF and other groups to reassess landing plans. The NGO stated on its official channels that Bari is about two and a half days of sailing away and that nearby ports are also options for future landings.
Last night’s rescue emerged after an alert from AlarmPhone, a network run by activists who monitor distress calls from migrants. The Geo Barents headed toward a region where Louis Michel previously arrived, with financial support from British donors and urban artists distributed life jackets to people on board to improve safety at sea.
On February 23, the MSF vessel was blocked for 20 days and fined ten thousand euros for not providing the necessary information following the disembarkation of migrants, a move tied to the decree regulating humanitarian vessel activities approved by the Meloni government. This constitutes the first NGO-related sanction under the new regulations, which have already passed through Parliament. The night’s rescue marks the first operation by an NGO in weeks in the central Mediterranean, a zone previously noted for being a no-fly zone of humanitarian activity for some time.
Meanwhile, arrivals continued along Italian shores with the coast guard reporting the rescue of 745 people traveling on multiple small boats this Thursday. The first operation occurred early in the morning when a fishing boat carrying 296 migrants in waters off Reggio Calabria, on the southern tip of the Italian peninsula, was intercepted and assisted. A second interception followed shortly after, involving a boat with 450 migrants about 100 miles east of Syracuse in Sicily. Later today, a barge carrying roughly 200 migrants reached the island of Lampedusa, the closest Italian territory to the African coast. On February 26, the southern region of Italy, notably the town of Cutro in Calabria, witnessed a shipwreck that left at least 89 migrants dead. These rescues are part of a persistent surge in migration, and official figures show that 20,379 migrants have landed on Italian shores so far this year, more than three times the 6,518 recorded during the same period in 2022. This ongoing flow underscores the intense humanitarian strain facing Italian authorities, coast guards, and rescue networks when navigating the Central Mediterranean routes.