Italian authorities have ordered the arrest of a migrant rescue vessel over fears 24 tonnes of discarded clothes could have been infected with HIV, meningitis and tuberculosis.
The Guardian reported that Italian prosecutors are concerned about a voyage the 1,812-gt standby vessel Aquarius Dignitus (built 1977) made from Libya to Italy.
The vessel is currently in Marseille, France.
Prosecutors from Sicily have alleged the waste was illegally labelled by the crew as “special waste” rather than “toxic waste”.
The ship is operated by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and SOS Mediterranee.
Prosecutors were cited as saying: “If Aquarius would disembark to Italy, it will be immediately put under seizure.”
A total of 24 people have been placed under investigation for "trafficking and the illegal management of waste,” including captain Evgenii Talanin.
MSF has been fined a total of EUR 460,000 ($524,000).
Campaigners have criticised claims that clothing could have been contaminated with HIV.
“Clothing categorically is not, and has never been, an HIV transmission risk,” said Deborah Gold, chief executive of the National AIDS Trust.
Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, said on Twitter: “It seems I did well to close the Italian ports to the NGOs.”
MSF said the allegations were “disproportionate and unfounded, purely aimed at further criminalising lifesaving medical-humanitarian action at sea".
