Aquarius migrant rescue ship heading for Marseille — charity

PARIS — The Aquarius migrant rescue ship in the Mediterranean is heading for the port of Marseille with 58 people on board, the vessel’s operators said Monday, posing a challenge for the French government which must decide whether to authorise it to dock.

The ship, the only charity-operated rescue boat working in the central Mediterranean, has been repeatedly turned away by Italy and been forced to stop in Malta and Spain after missions in recent months.

“It’s the only option we have,” the director of SOS Mediterranee, Frederic Penard, told reporters about the decision to head for Marseille.

French President Emmanuel Macron has previously accused Italy of breaching international maritime law by turning away the Aquarius because the country is the closest to areas where the boat operates.

Italy’s far-right interior minister accuses the Aquarius of offering a “taxi service” to Europe for migrants in Libya and has said it is permanently barred from Italian ports.

SOS Mediterranee and fellow charity Doctors without Borders (MSF), which operate the boat jointly, suffered a major setback on Saturday when Panama said it would stop allowing the Aquarius to fly its flag at sea.

The decision came after Gibraltar withdrew authorisation for the Aquarius to use its flag in August, potentially leaving the boat stuck in legal limbo.