Rescue ships may be impounded

Emaciated and trembling, 234 migrants staggered off the MV Lifeline at a Maltese port on Thursday – the final steps of a voyage that became an international diplomatic incident and is now a symbol of Europe’s shift towards a tougher migration policy.

Today in the Maltese capital, Valletta, the boat’s captain, ClausPeter Reisch, faces a court hearing and possible jail time.

The Lifeline’s days on the high seas may be numbered. Maltese authorities say they will impound the vessel pending an investigation into whether the captain had disobeyed the Libyan coastguard when it picked up the migrants from two flimsy rubber boats.

After EU leaders agreed a package of measures at their summit in Brussels at the weekend, governments are poised to impound more volunteer search and rescue boats.

Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, persuaded the summit to back a tougher response to humanitarian vessels accused of disobeying regulations or obstructing the Libyan coastguard, which has been trained by Italy to police the migrant sea routes.

‘‘We have sent a clear message to all vessels – including those of NGOs [non-governmental organisations]- operating in the Mediterranean, that they must respect the law and must not obstruct the operation of the Libyan coastguard,’’ Donald Tusk, the European Council president, said later. ‘‘This demonstrates our clear and unequivocal support for the actions of the Maltese authorities.’’

The Lifeline’s fate marks a shift in Europe’s approach to the migration crisis. Mission Lifeline, the German NGO that owns the boat, says it followed all instructions but refused to return the passengers to Libya, citing risks to their human rights there.

In the run-up to the Brussels summit, the lumbering, 50-yearold

ship spent six days trying to find a port that would let it dock.

‘‘We find it strange that these NGO ships, docked in Italy and Malta, are going out to pick up people – maybe they should be impounded,’’ one diplomat said on the eve of the summit.

It was a sign of how, alarmed by the rise to power of antiimmigrant parties in Italy, Hungary and Austria, and fretful for their own political futures, Europe’s leaders have abandoned the big-hearted welcome extended to Syrian refugees in

2015. –

AP Migrants disembark from the ship operated by German aid group Mission Lifeline, carrying 234 migrants, after it docked at Valletta port in Malta on Thursday.