Tunisian fishermen have prevented a ship chartered by far-right anti-immigration activists from putting into port, forcing the vessel to head further along the north African country’s coast in search of reportedly much-needed supplies.

Flying a Mongolian flag and manned by members of the extremist French-based Generation Identity group, the C-Star was was turned away from Zarzis harbour on Sunday night and is thought likely to try to dock at Sfax or Gabès on Monday.

After leaving Cyprus on 1 August and being advised not to dock in Greece or Sicily for fear of protests, the C-Star briefly tracked the Aquarius, a search and rescue boat operated by the NGO SOS Mediterranée, off the coast of Libya at the weekend.

But the 40-metre (130ft) vessel faced determined resistance from Tunisian fishermen as it approached port. “If they come here, we’ll block the refuelling channel,” Chamseddine Bourassine, a local fishermen’s leader, told Agence France-Presse.

“It is the least we can do given what is happening out in the Mediterranean. Muslims and Africans are dying.” A Zarzis port official said authorities there would “never let in racists”.

The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights, a local NGO, said it would oppose any attempt by the C-Star to dock and take on fresh supplies of fuel, food and water in a Tunisian port. It called on the government “not to cooperate with its racist and dangerous crew”.



Generation Identity’s self-styled “Defend Europe” mission chartered the C-Star in Djibouti last month after raising €75,000 (£67,000) through crowdfunding. After originally promising to actively block migrant boats it now says it is “monitoring” rescues in the Mediterranean.



The group – a movement of young, far-right activists mainly from France, Germany, Austria and Italy who are opposed to Islam and immigration – accuses NGOs saving lives in the Mediterranean of illegally working with people smugglers to bring migrants to Europe.

Katie Hopkins, the MailOnline columnist, met members of the group in Catania, Sicily, tweeting: “Good to meet Team C-Star @DefendEuropeID. Young people, eight nations, crowdfunded, shining a light on NGO people traffickers in Med.”

The venture has not been without mishap. First the C-Star was held up for a week in the Suez canal by Egyptian authorities looking for weapons. Then when it docked in the Cypriot port of Famagusta last month, some of its Sri Lankan crew jumped ship. Several reportedly asked for asylum and others were deported.

Opponents say the presence of NGO rescue vessels in the Mediterranean is fuelling the people smugglers’ lucrative trade.

But humanitarian groups say turning migrant boats back to Libya is potentially highly dangerous and illegal under international law, condemning migrants to squalid detention camps where they risk sexual violence and forced labour.

More than, 10,000 migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats since 2014, prompting privately funded and charity-run rescue vessels to joining a multinational search and rescue operation coordinated by Italy’s coastguard.



Rescue ships operated by NGOs picked up about one third of the nearly 100,000 people saved this year, but their relations with Italy have become strained as pressure to stem the flow of migrants has mounted, threatening to overwhelm the country’s asylum system.

Last week Italian authorities seized one NGO vessel, the Iuventa, operated by the German group Jugend Rettet, saying its crew had been in direct contact with traffickers to allow migrants to be picked up close to the Libyan shore.



The number of migrant arrivals in Italy in July was down dramatically on the same month last year, possibly suggesting Italian authorities’ efforts to train and better equip the Libyan coastguard could already be having an impact.

The interior ministry said 11,193 arrivals had been registered in July, compared with 23,552 in July 2016. Arrivals for the first seven months of this year were 95,214, up 0.78% on the same period last year.