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A rescue boat carrying dozens of refugees in the Mediterranean Sea has seen its registration revoked by the Panamanian authorities following pressure from the Italian right-wing government, say two humanitarian groups.
SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders, two nongovernmental organizations, jointly operate Aquarius 2 under the Panamanian flag near the famous milking route, where 1,600 people died while trying to reach Europe this year alone.
The two said in a statement that Panama had withdrawn the vessel's registration "under blatant economic and political pressure from the Italian government".
The Panamanian Maritime Authority said in a statement that it had started proceedings to withdraw the registration of Aquarius 2, after Italy complained that the boat's captain had failed to comply with the orders.
The organization added that although the "main complaint came from the Italian authorities," Gibraltar officials had also withdrawn the vessel's registration and had asked Panama to suspend its operations.
He also said that Italy claimed that the captain had defied instructions to return refugees rescued from dangerous ships to Libya.
The ships were initially launched by Libyan traffickers, but the NGOs said the North African country did not meet international security standards so that rescued refugees could be repatriated.
Libya is currently experiencing extreme violence in a surge of fighting between rival militias.
Refugees who are forced to return are detained in detention centers where sexual assaults are frequent and food is scarce.
Italy says that the return of rescued refugees to Libya will discourage human trafficking, but international maritime law stipulates that those rescued at sea should be brought to the closest security zone.
Despite this, private rescue boats can not dock in Italy, after being banned by Matteo Salvini, deputy prime minister anti-refugees of the country.
Mr Salvini denied that Italy was linked to the decision concerning Aquarius 2 in a tweet published Sunday night, writing that there was "no pressure at all on Panama for Aquarius 2. I do not even know Panama& # 39; area code ".
Aquarius 2 was carrying 58 rescued refugees. From Sunday evening, we did not know where they could be taken.
The boat is the last private rescue ship working in the central Mediterranean, and NGOs on Sunday urged European governments to either reassure Panama that Italy's claims are unfounded, or to issue a new flag for continue to navigate.
The Spanish maritime rescue service said Sunday that it had fired 447 refugees from its south coast.
A recent upsurge of refugees entering the country has put pressure on the Spanish authorities, which has only worsened with Italy's refusal to allow the berthing of lifeboats.
Associated Press contributed to this report
