Humanitarian ships rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean Sea are not acting as a "pull factor" that increases refugee crossings, nor are they "colluding" with smugglers, new research has found. The report by the Forensic Oceanography department at Goldsmiths, University of London, firmly rejects the accusations that have been made against rescuers, not only by some media outlets, but even by public figures in Italy and elsewhere. "The evidence simply does not support the idea that rescues by NGOs are to blame for an increase in migrants crossing," said Lorenzo Pezzani, the report's author.