"Go further north!" Italy exasperates migrant rescue boats

A member of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) looks at a migrant after he was rescued by the ship 'Geo Barents' during a search and rescue (SAR) operation in the Mediterranean Sea, January 25, 2023. Mohamad Cheblak/Doctors without Borders/Handout via REUTERS

ROME (Reuters) - Right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is forcing migrant rescue ships to dock further and further north along Italy's coastline, meaning long journeys that raise their operating costs and strain their ability to continue saving lives.

On Tuesday, the Geo Barents, a vessel operated by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), was told to go to the northern port of La Spezia after picking up 69 migrants south of Malta.