New Civilian Migrant Rescue Ship Heads For Libyan Waters

A new migrant rescue ship was headed for the waters off Libya on Thursday, one of the aid groups running the boat said, after similar vessels were prevented from operating.

Rome, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 4th Oct, 2018 ) :A new migrant rescue ship was headed for the waters off Libya on Thursday, one of the aid groups running the boat said, after similar vessels were prevented from operating.

"The #MareJonio is on its way!" Sea-Watch tweeted.

"In cooperation with #Mediterranea we are back at sea, to keep a sharp lookout and to challenge the European policy of letting people drown." The announcement came on the same day that the Aquarius rescue ship sailed into Marseille harbour and an uncertain fate after Panama pulled its flag, meaning it cannot leave port without a new flag.

The Mare Jonio is a tug flying the Italian flag that left Augusta in Sicily on Wednesday evening, headed south, maritime tracking websites said.

The 37-metre (121 foot) vessel -- around half the length of the Aquarius -- is not intended to rescue migrants and bring them to a safe port but to spot and secure migrant-carrying boats that are in distress.

It will also provide a civilian presence in an area where they say the Libyan coastguard and international military vessels are failing to rescue people, despite several shipwrecks in September.