Overcrowding not a reason to detain migrant rescue ships, says ECJ

Overcrowding can't be used as a motive to impound search and rescue ships, the European Courtroom of Justice (ECJ) mentioned in a ruling on Monday.

The judgment got here after two Sea Watch ships have been topic to inspection in Italy in the summertime of 2020.

The humanitarian organisation's vessels have been impounded on the grounds that they have been "not licensed in respect of search and rescue actions at sea" and had taken extra individuals on board than they "have been authorised to accommodate".

The ECJ ruling on Monday mentioned that individuals on board as a consequence of a rescue operation can't be taken into consideration when port authorities confirm if security guidelines have been complied with.

"The variety of individuals on board, even when better than that which is authorised, can not, subsequently, in itself, represent a floor for a management," the court docket press launch mentioned.

As soon as migrants have disembarked, the ECJ mentioned, nationwide port authorities may topic a ship to an inspection however needed to show that there have been "severe indications of a hazard to well being, security, on-board working situations or the surroundings".

The ECJ added that ships licensed as cargo ships are sometimes used for search and rescue actions. The Sea Watch ships in query, as an illustration, have been categorised as cargo ships beneath the German flag.

The court docket mentioned that port authorities didn't have the facility to "demand proof that these ships maintain certificates aside from these issued by the flag State or that they adjust to all the necessities relevant to a different classification."

German NGO Sea Watch known as the ruling a "clear win for sea rescue".

The organisation mentioned their ships had been detained as a consequence of "absurd causes" together with a lacking "imaginary certification" and "too many rescued individuals have been on board."

"Italy cannot demand an imaginary certification that does not even exist beneath the German flag. Additionally, the variety of rescued individuals is not a motive for detention," Sea Watch Worldwide tweeted.

"The ruling supplies clear authorized safety for NGOs and is a victory for sea rescue."