Spain stops NGO boat from leaving Barcelona port

Spain is stopping a boat belonging to the NGO Proactiva Open Arms from setting sail from the port of Barcelona after the Barcelona port authority (which is subject to the Ministry of Development) refused it permission last week because of its trips in Libyan waters, as the newspaper Ara reported yesterday. The main argument behind this decision is that states in the area are violating international maritime law by refusing to take in shipwreck survivors, which means that the ship has had to wait “with a large number of people aboard and then travel for periods of several days crossing the Mediterranean to reach a safe harbour”. It is also stated that Open Arms ships are not certified to guarantee compliance with international regulations for the transport of large numbers of people, because the boat is certified for 18 people in normal conditions.

The founder of Proactiva Open Arms, Òscar Camps, stated that “preventing us from saving lives is irresponsible and cruel,” and that the Barcelona port authority’s arguments are unfounded as “shipwreck survivors are fortuitous passengers and that is how they are seen in international law”. The decision was criticized by Catalan foreign affairs minister Alfred Bosch, and Ada Colau, the Mayor of Barcelona, who has offered to intercede with the Spanish government.