AKIPRESS.COM - A rescue ship with more than 600 migrants on board was drifting in international waters on Monday as Italy’s new interior minister doubled down on his decision to stop it docking in an Italian port, Reuters reported.

Matteo Salvini, head of the far-right League party who campaigned vowing to stop to the mass influx of migrants from Africa, blocked the ship, operated by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors without Borders, over the weekend.

“Saving lives at sea is a duty, but transforming Italy into an enormous refugee camp is not,” Salvini said on Facebook on Monday. “Italy is done bowing its head and obeying. This time there’s someone saying no.”