"After our reconnaissance aircraft Seabird 2 last week documented yet another case of failure to assist" migrants at sea in which "two children and an adult died", Italian Aviation Authority "ENAC warned us about the administrative seizure of one of our aircraft, Sea Bird 1, for 20 days", the German NGO announced in a statement published on Thursday, August 7.

The organization added that ENAC mentioned violations allegedly committed on June 30 to motivate the measure.

"We are curious to learn more" about the incident and "to discover under which pretext this time we are being kept away from those who need help", the NGO also stated.

"As usual, those who violate human rights are not paying the price - those reporting them are", commented Sea-Watch.

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'We are not stopping, we will continue to monitor situation of migrants at sea'

However, the German NGO has said it will continue to carry out surveillance operations to monitor the situation of migrants at sea with its aircraft. "We are not discouraged. We are evaluating with our legal team how to fight this umpteenth, spurious measure. We will return to fly in the coming days with our other aircraft to document what is going on in the central Mediterranean", the organization explained.

Measure taken over unclear violations dating back to June 30, NGO says

According to Sea-Watch, this is the first time one of its three planes has been grounded. ENAV's measure is related to alleged violations dating back to June 30, although the authority has not provided further details, volunteers said.

Overall, the so-called flow-decree regulating the legal entry of foreigners provides for fines, including the administrative seizure of private aircraft that fail to "immediately" report to ENAC emergency situations at sea.

For this reason, the NGO, which claims it has always promptly alerted the authorities in such situations, is trying to obtain more detailed information about the agency's decision and evaluating with its lawyers whether to file a complaint.

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151 air missions last year, aiding 221 boats in distress

Last year, the aircraft Seabird 1, Seabird 2 and Moonbird operated by Sea-Watch carried out 151 missions for a total of 845 flight hours.

The NGO's crew was able to spot 221 migrant boats in distress during their surveillance operations for a total of approximately 11,000 passengers.

These operations aided rescue operations carried out by vessels.

The last time the NGO reported seeing a migrant boat on social media was at the end of July when 14 people fell into the water. Twelve were promptly rescued and taken to the port of Lampedusa, including two newborns.

"It is the second shipwreck we have witnessed this week", stressed Sea-Watch on social media at the beginning of this month.

Now the NGO's planes face the risk of being seized, exactly like the organization's vessels.

A few days ago, Sea-Watch reported that the Tribunal of Agrigento had suspended the 18-day-long administrative impoundment of its ship Aurora, which was blocked at the local port.