On Sunday 26th March, 2023 the rescue ship LOUISE MICHEL funded by British street artist Banksy was detained in Lampedusa after Italy’s Coast Guard (Guardia Costiera) said the boat had disobeyed her instructions to head to Sicily after carrying out a migrant rescue operation.
Guardia Costiera stated that it had ordered the LOUISE MICHEL to enter Trapani Port in Sicily after she performed an initial rescue operation in Libya’s SAR area. The ship instead went to assist migrants on three other boats in Malta’s SAR area.
It ordered the LOUISE MICHEL to dock in accordance with a new law passed in Italy , establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships and had to berth at Lampedusa late on Saturday with 178 immigrants on board.
