POS REGGIO CALABRIA – SATURDAY 9 JUNE h 0800
The 232 people on board have been at sea for more than 72 hours now, of which two days under bad sea conditions. People are becoming increasingly weakened.
The situation is indicative of a worrying lack of search and rescue assets in the Central Mediterranean Sea. After first providing assistance, Sea-Watch sailed for 90 nautical miles to assist a merchant vessel which had also been involved in a rescue. Only the NGO became available for transshipment, supporting MRCC Rome in allowing the cargo ship to proceed with its activities, without leaving its work area. Subsequently Sea-Watch, despite having an assigned landing port, was engaged in other search operations, towards a position at about 70 nautical miles north of the Libyan coast, where then an Italian Navy vessel intervened.
Released from this engagement, Sea Watch then traveled another 80 nautical miles or so to support Seefuchs (the NGO Sea Eye’s vessel) and conduct a transshipment, which then became impossible to complete. This extensive route followed by Sea-Watch makes it clear that there is an acute lack of assets willing to provide assistance.
Solidarity at sea, only between NGOs?
Sea-Watch has remained in close proximity to Seefuchs for more than 24 hours to offer assistance to NGO Sea Eye, in an attempt to conduct a transshipment made impossible by worsening weather conditions. Yesterday, the Rome Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre provided assistance to the Italian Coast Guard’s SAR CP941 vessel, redirected a merchant vessel and alerted an EUNAVFOR MED. The support requested from Malta for the landing of Seefuchs was refused. Support, in general, should have been sent to the area before weather conditions deteriorated, as foreseen in the weather forecasts.
Malta refuses assistance (except air medical evacuation). Seefuchs is currently still assisted by the Italian Coast Guard. Transshipment could not take place due to weather conditions. Malta has (so far) refused to take responsibility for the situation and open its ports to the NGO.
Credit: Erik Marquardt/Sea-Watch
Port assigned to Sea-Watch only just before 12 o’clock today
After a first port assignment on June 6, Sea-Watch was engaged in the above operations until the late afternoon of yesterday, when it was instructed to proceed northward, without having an assigned port, pending confirmation by the Ministry of Interior to the Italian Coast Guard.
Malta refuses assistance (except air medical evacuation). Seefuchs is currently still assisted by the Italian Coast Guard. Transshipment could not take place due to weather conditions. Malta has (so far) refused to take responsibility for the situation and open its ports to the NGO.ation of the rules governing respect for human rights, reflected in the European strategy to strengthen the operational capacity of Libyan vessels at sea, with a view to intercepting and returning people to Libya, where they are subject to unlimited detention, inhumane conditions and serious and well-documented human rights violations.
