The Geo Barents first arrived in the port Marina di Carrara in the evening hours of July 29, where 214 persons rescued in the Mediterranean were disembarked. The next day, the NGO vessel, which is run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) traveled further to Livorno, where 132 migrants were disembarked after midday.

Among those who got off the Geo Barents in Livorno were 12 women and 57 unaccompanied minors, ten of whom were transferred to nearby Piombino while the remaining 47 minors were taken by bus to Taranto.

The remaining adults were destined for Genoa and Campobasso, according to local authorities.

Criticism against back and forth tactics

The Italian government, however, faced some strong criticism -- in particular for the unnecessary hardship it had created for the migrants by sending them to multiple places instead of disembarking them in one go.

The Mayor of Livorno, Luca Salvetti, said this handling of migrant arrivals was "indecent, untenable, and unbearable," both in terms of their treatment but also in terms of the burden it caused on the region.

"In my opinion, the way disembarking operations were conducted remains indecent, especially as I have come to learn that unaccompanied minors, who were at sea between Tunisia and Sicily, were first sent to Livorno and Carrara and then, once they disembarked, were placed on a bus and sent to Taranto," Salvetti said, stressing that arrival numbers of migrants had "grown fivefold over the course of the year."

"The city of Livorno has counted 6 boat arrivals in slightly over six months and, as always, it has responded with its heart and its mind: showing solidarity in an organized and efficient way.

"This time we carried out our operations despite additional complications that we were given at the last moment," the mayor added, specifying the strain caused by the double arrival.

No rhyme or reason to disembarkation procedure

Tuscan Civil Protection Councilor Monia Monni agreed that the decision to split the disembarking between the two ports in Tuscany was "devoid of any sense, especially devoid of any humanity, as well as any logistic sense" -- in particular taking the summer heat into consideration

However, Monni also highlighted that among the initial 214 migrant persons, who disembarked at the port of Marina di Carrara, were "women who had suffered violence, genital mutilations, six pregnant women, and minors under one year old," who needed more immediate assistance than others and were therefore given preference.

Still, she said she believes that the decision to "split the disembarking into three parts, as some persons had already disembarked in Lampedusa, is unacceptable," adding "unsustainable pressure to the system."

"It is crazy to subject persons who have already been through a lot, to undertake such long hauls, with thousands of kilometers to reach Marina di Carrara and others to reach Livorno. These methods lack any human sense, in fact, they come close to being an additional torture," she commented.