First, the crew of the rescue vessel was not allowed to dock, now it must not leak: A rescue ship of the German aid organization Sea-Watch must remain in the port in Sicily.
The Italian Coast Guard blamed the Dutch authorities for doing so. These had ordered that the "Sea-Watch 3" should not extend, it was said. It must first be further investigated whether the ship is suitable for longer trips with many people.
Johannes Bayer, chairman of Sea-Watch, said: "Our ship is ready and well equipped to help people in need, but we are not a floating hotel." If the European governments did not always delay the reception of the rescued, the ship would not have to be equipped for longer journeys - even the lifeboats of the Dutch maritime rescue service could not guarantee this.
The "Sea-Watch 3" runs under Dutch flag. It lies since the end of January in the port of Catania. By the time several EU countries agreed to take part, the ship had previously sailed for nearly two weeks with 47 rescued people at sea. The hygienic conditions worsened sometimes enormously. The crew of the ship reported migrants' health problems.
Italy's populist government wants to ban private rescue vessels in general from mooring in the ports of the country and had already blocked several ships at sea.