The decree comes as the German-flagged vessel Alan Kurdi is currently in international waters of the coast of Libya with 150 shipwreck survivors
The decree comes as the German-flagged vessel Alan Kurdi is currently in international waters of the coast of Libya with 150 shipwreck survivors
Sally Hayden/SOPA Images/Sipa USA via AP/FILE
Rome CNN  — 

Non-national migrant rescue ships will no longer be able to dock in Italy, after the country declared its ports were not safe due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Given the spread of Covid-19, Italian ports cannot guarantee the necessary prerequisites to be qualified as ‘places of safety,’” the government decree says.

While it does not mention migrants specifically, the order refers to search and rescue operations, which pluck thousands of migrants from the Mediterranean each year.

It will remain in place for the duration of the health emergency triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, the decree added.

The measure was condemned by several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Sea Watch, MSF and Open Arms, in a joint statement.

The statement said Italy should “show the same solidarity towards vulnerable people who risk their lives at sea because they have no alternative” at a time when the country is seeking international help to deal with the pandemic.

A volunteer waits for patients outside the Jackson Women's Health Organization, the last abortion clinic in Mississippi, April 5, 2018 in Jackson, Mississippi. - Women have been able to legally seek an abortion throughout the United States since 1973's landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. But the right to reproductive choice remain tenuous as debate over the issue continues to rage, especially in conservative states like Mississippi which have introduced myriad measures restricting access to services -- creating for many women an effective ban. Mississippi is among seven US states with just one place where women can seek an abortion. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) / With AFP Story by Eleonore SENS: Facing legal threats, Mississippi's last abortion clinic stands defiant (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
A volunteer waits for patients outside the Jackson Women's Health Organization, the last abortion clinic in Mississippi, April 5, 2018 in Jackson, Mississippi. - Women have been able to legally seek an abortion throughout the United States since 1973's landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade. But the right to reproductive choice remain tenuous as debate over the issue continues to rage, especially in conservative states like Mississippi which have introduced myriad measures restricting access to services -- creating for many women an effective ban. Mississippi is among seven US states with just one place where women can seek an abortion. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP) / With AFP Story by Eleonore SENS: Facing legal threats, Mississippi's last abortion clinic stands defiant (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

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“With a decree whose obvious purpose is to stop rescue activities in the Mediterranean, without providing alternatives to save the lives of those fleeing Libya, Italy has deprived its ports of the connotation of ‘safe places,’” the joint statement read.

None of the NGO signatories currently have rescue ships at sea, according to their statement.

But the decree comes as the German-flagged vessel Alan Kurdi, operated by Sea-Eye, is currently in international waters off the coast of Libya with 150 shipwreck survivors on board, including a pregnant woman, according to their press release.

The Italian Ministry of Transport has asked the German government to “take responsibility” for the landing port for the Alan Kurdi vessel, it said in a statement.

Italy has been one of the worst-hit European countries in the pandemic. According to John Hopkins University, the country has 139,422 confirmed cases and 17,669 deaths as of Wednesday.

In 2018, the far-right former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini closed Italy’s ports to migrant rescue vessels. And in 2019, Italy adopted a decree that could see ships docking without authorization facing fines of up to $57,000.