(ANSA) - Palermo, August 2 - Italian police and Coast Guard authorities on Wednesday executed an order by a Trapani judge for the preventative seizure of the Iuventa, a ship flying the Dutch flag operating for the German NGO Jugend Rettet, sources said. The order is related to a probe into alleged aiding of illegal immigration.
The European Commission has said that NGOs that do not sign the code will not be guaranteed of access to Italian ports.
Earlier on Tuesday, Jugend Rettet said via Twitter that the vessel "has not been confiscated" after it was stopped and checked at the Italian island of Lampedusa.
NGO ship Iuventa confiscated - judge's order
Order linked to probe into aiding illegal immigration