MADRID: Tensions
rose on a rescue ship stranded off southern Italy yesterday, as 10 of the
migrants aboard jumped into the sea and tried to swim ashore, according to the
Spanish charity that operates the vessel. The ship Open Arms, at sea for 19
days with almost 100 migrants onboard, has been waiting just off the port of
Lampedusa, asking permission to bring the mostly African migrants ashore,
despite an Italian ban on private rescue ships docking. Italy says it has borne
too much responsibility for handling African migration to Europe. Its interior
minister says the charity-run ships have become "taxis" for people
smugglers.

"Nine people
have thrown themselves into the water trying desperately to reach the coast of
Lampedusa. Our lifeguards and Italian coastguards are trying to rescue them.
The situation is out of control," the Open Arms tweeted. It had earlier
tweeted that one other migrant had jumped in the water and posted a video of
the migrant swimming toward the shore, his way blocked by an Italian Coast
Guard boat.

"Day 19: a
night of panic and a man in the water," the charity tweeted. "The
night began with an urgent medical evacuation, and this morning a man has
jumped into the water trying to reach the land before his eyes ... The
situation is desperate." The man overboard, a Syrian, was rescued by
Italian authorities, who are caring for him, an Open Arms spokeswoman said.
Dozens of migrants have been taken ashore since the ship entered Italian waters
because they were said to be minors or ill. The remaining migrants still sleep
jammed together on deck and share two toilets. Open Arms says some are
suicidal.

Interior Minister
Matteo Salvini suggested yesterday that the charity was exaggerating the
problems on board. Of eight migrants taken ashore on Monday night for urgent
medical attention, he said, only two had health problems. "I will never go
back (on the ban)," he told Radio 24. The standoff has fuelled Salvini's campaign
against migrant boats from Africa, and comes as he is trying to drag Italy into
snap elections. The ruling coalition, in danger of collapse later on, has split
over the issue.

Salvini's
political rival, Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli, who controls the Coast
Guard but not port access, has offered to take the migrants on a Coast Guard
vessel to Spain, which has offered them safe harbor. But Toninelli has set a
condition-that Madrid de-register the Open Arms ship by removing its Spanish
flag. Without a flag, it would be difficult for the ship to continue running
rescue missions; its insurance would be invalid and it could be intercepted at
any time by a navy or coast guard force.

Separate talks
are also under way between Italy and Spain to find a diplomatic solution, said
a source in Rome familiar with the matter. She did not elaborate. "They
want to take the flag away from us. The price is very high," Open Arms'
director and founder, Oscar Camps, said in remarks published by El Mundo
newspaper yesterday. Camps has ruled out the option of taking the migrants to
Spain on the Open Arms ship, saying conditions on board were too miserable for
them to endure such a journey.

If a solution is
not found, Open Arms has not ruled out the option of defying Italy's ban and
attempting to dock. Asked if the ship would try and enter the port without
permission, the Open Arms head of mission in Lampedusa, Riccardo Gatti, said on
Monday, "Yes, it is an option". Spain's left-wing government offered
on Monday to allow the ship to dock at a Spanish port, and it and five other
European Union nations have offered to take the migrants. The details of the
offers from France, Germany, Romania, Portugal, Spain and Luxembourg have yet
to be finalized. - Reuters