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AFP
The Maritime Authority of Panama (PMA) only registered the ship last month, after the Gibraltar authorities had revoked their flag
The registration of a rescue vessel operating in the central Mediterranean has jeopardized its future operations.
When Aquarius starts docking, he will have to remove his Panamanian flag and will not be able to sail without a new one.
It is the last private rescue ship operating in the area used for crossings from Libya to Europe.
The charities that run the ship are accusing the Italian government of pressuring Panama to defeat Aquarius.
The two groups that rent it, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and SOS Mediterranée, said they were informed Saturday of the decision by the Maritime Authority of Panama (PMA).
The authorities reportedly described the ship as a "political problem" for the country's government and said that the Italian authorities had urged them to take "immediate measures" against them, according to SOS Mediterranée.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who previously described aid boats as a "taxi service" for migrants, denies that his country has put pressure on Panama.
On Sunday, he tweeted that he "did not even know" what Panama prefix had for phone calls.
Salvini has played a leading role in the crackdown on public immigration in Italy since his government, a coalition between the right wing party of the League and the anti-constitutional Five Star movement, has come to power. in June.
He has frequently clashed with lifeboat operators and was involved last month in a standoff over the landing of 150 migrants on a coastguard ship in Sicily.
According to the United Nations, more than 1,700 migrants died while trying to reach Europe in 2018.
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Karline Kleijer, head of emergency situations at MSF, accused European leaders of using "abusive and vicious" tactics
Aquarius has been operating in the region since February 2016, finding itself at the center of diplomatic clashes over the last few months regarding the landing.
He was under the flag of the Gibraltar Maritime Administration until August of that year, when he received a notice of withdrawal and was re-registered with Panama.
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The ship's operators claim to have been informed of the new decision during a current mission and say that they have 58 survivors aboard two boats that they found in distress.
Once docked, the ship will now be disarmed and will no longer sail without being registered with a new maritime authority.
In a joint statement, charities insisted that they were "in full compliance" with maritime law and denounced the decision as condemning hundreds of people to the death penalty.
The declaration calls on European governments to intervene to allow the ship to continue its operations, either by reassuring the Panamanian authorities or by issuing a new flag.
