Maltese prosecutors want confiscation of German rescue boat Lifeline

The German captain of a private ship that rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea pleaded innocent on Monday to charges that he entered Malta’s waters illegally and without proper boat registration, AP said. At an arraignment hearing in Valletta, Maltese prosecutors asked a magistrate to order the confiscation of the vessel Lifeline, which picked up 234 migrants in waters off Libya last month. Malta last week gave the ship safe harbor, only after Italy and seven other nations agreed to each take some of the migrants. Several hundred thousand migrants have arrived in Italy after sea rescue in recent years. The country’s new government refused to let the Lifeline dock. Maltese officials launched an investigation to determine if the ship’s crew violated maritime laws.