ITALY AND Malta were last night stuck in a four-day stand-off over the fate of 140 migrants and 13 crew aboard the Turkish-owned ship, the MV Pinar, currently anchored in a limbo close to both Malta and the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The Turkish vessel answered a “search and rescue” call on Thursday, when it picked up the migrants, including 40 children and 38 women, one of whom subsequently died. Since then, however, the vessel has been refused entry into Italian waters by Italian authorities which argue that since the migrants were picked up in a Maltese “intervention zone”, they should instead be taken to Malta.
In contrast, the Maltese authorities argue that according to international conventions, the migrants should be landed at the nearest safe port – which in this case would be Lampedusa.
Media reports claim the rescue took place 41 nautical miles south of Lampedusa and 114 nautical miles west of Malta.
Over the weekend, Laura Boldrini, spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), praised the Pinar'screw for their "great sense of responsibility", which she said was missing on the part of both governments.
She said the diplomatic "ping-pong" over the fate of the Pinarwas doubly unfortunate because it not only aggravated the difficult situation on board the vessel, but might also discourage other merchant and fishing vessels from assisting "boat people" in difficulty.
Italian interior minister Roberto Maroni has accused Malta of dumping the migrants on Italy and has called on European Union justice commissioner Jacques Barrot to intervene.
Malta, however, claims to have respected international conventions, pointing out that although it co-ordinates maritime search and rescue within its area of responsibility, “rescued persons are to be disembarked at the nearest safe port”.
The UNHCR meanwhile has described the situation as a "humanitarian emergency". Over the weekend, Italian doctors and coast guard officials managed to board the Pinar, taking blankets, food and water to the migrants.
Coast guard commander Cosimo Nicastro later told reporters that while the conditions on the Pinarwere cramped and unhygienic, most of the migrants were in "good health". Media reports, however, claimed that the Pinaris towing a lifeboat which contains the body of a pregnant woman, already dead when the migrants were rescued on Thursday.