London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 09, 2025

Italy closes ports to NGO ship carrying 179 migrants

Italy closes ports to NGO ship carrying 179 migrants

Only children, pregnant women and people in ill health will be let into Italy, Interior Minister Piantedosi says.
Italy said an NGO ship carrying 179 migrants will be turned away from Italian ports and redirected to international waters once minors and vulnerable people have disembarked.

Speaking to journalists on Friday following a cabinet meeting, newly-installed Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the government had adopted a decree requiring German-flagged vessel Humanity 1 — currently anchored off Sicily — to remain in Italy’s waters only temporarily.

“That will be only for the time necessary to check for emergencies on board, whether health-related or otherwise,” Piantedosi said, according to Italian press agency Adnkronos. Piantedosi said children, pregnant women and people in ill health will be let into Italy.

“People who are not in urgent need of help will have to be taken back to international waters,” the minister said.

Among the migrants rescued at sea by Humanity 1 are more than 100 unaccompanied minors, including a seven-month-old baby, according to media reports.

Piantedosi said that the ship “forced the situation” by entering Italian waters.

The position of the newly installed Italian government, led by right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, is that ships should turn to their flag country to get access to a safe port. Italian newspaper La Repubblica, quoting people aboard Humanity 1, reported that people are falling ill and shivering on the deck and that inclement weather gave the crew no choice but to enter Italy’s waters to seek refuge.

Piantedosi said that the government decree toward the Humanity 1 was “the first act” of a policy aimed at calling on flag countries to “respect their obligations” while respecting human rights. But it is unlikely to be the the last: In a communication published in late October, the interior ministry singled out Humanity 1 alongside Norwegian-flagged Ocean Viking — which is also stationed off Sicily and is carrying 234 people — as ships that may be forbidden access to Italian waters.

In his press conference, Piantedosi mentioned another vessel, Rise Above, that is grappling with an apparent mutiny. Adnkronos reported that government decrees analogous to the one adopted for Humanity 1 are in the pipeline for these two vessels.

Meloni made a hard-line approach to fighting illegal immigration as one of her key campaigning issues in the general election. Her government coalition partner, Matteo Salvini, when Interior minister in 2018-2019, had pioneered a similar combative stance towards NGOs rescuing migrants at sea, making the slogan “let’s close the ports” one of his calling cards.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×