France, Italy wrangle over migrant vessel

PARIS — France denounced as "unacceptable" Italy's refusal to take in a migrant ship, as the two countries wrangled over which should accept a vessel with 234 people aboard.

The row centers on the Ocean Viking, a charity ship that has sailed away from Sicilian waters toward France after unsuccessfully waiting for permission to dock in Italy since late October.

Run by European charity SOS Mediterranee under a Norwegian flag, the ship appealed to France to accept it and it was expected to approach the French island of Corsica by Thursday.

Italy's new right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration is cracking down on charity vessels, urging them to take rescued people elsewhere and saying Italy cannot alone receive arrivals from North Africa.

Late on Tuesday, Italy expressed its "appreciation" for "France's decision" to share responsibility for the migrants.

However, a spokesperson for the French government said diplomatic talks were still underway with Rome to try to resolve the fate of the ship and said Italy had to help those in distress at sea. "The Italian attitude is… unacceptable. Italy must play its role," Olivier Veran told Franceinfo radio.

The Italian government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A source at SOS Mediterranee, the charity group operating the Ocean Viking, said they were planning to reach Corsica on Thursday morning and they were ready to head to Marseille if they were not allowed to disembark there, Reuters reported.

It came as hundreds of migrants waiting aboard rescue ships after Italy denied them entry finally came ashore.

On Tuesday night, the Geo Barents and the Humanity 1 disembarked the nearly 250 migrants they carried after Italian health authorities gave them the green light at Sicily's eastern port of Catania, Agence France-Presse reported.

Italy has seen a sharp increase in migrant landings this year, with almost 88,700 people arriving so far this year, compared with 56,500 in the same period last year. Around 15 percent were picked up by charity vessels.

Agencies Via Xinhua