The Aquarius, a rescue ship chartered by the French NGO SOS Mediterranee, is to set sail again. The ship spent days at sea with 629 migrants in June after being denied port by Italy and Malta.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Jordan
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The migrant rescue ship Aquarius was to set sail again on Wednesday for the waters between Libya, Malta and Italy, the charities operating the ship have said.
It is one of only two private rescue vessels still operating in the Mediterranean after an increase in restrictions by European governments.
"Despite a radical shift in the operational context for humanitarian interventions in the Mediterranean, the Aquarius operations are driven by the same conviction that there is no alternative to saving lives in distress at sea, and by the same principle rooted in the maritime tradition that no human being should be left drowning at sea," SOS Mediterrannee, a French NGO which charters the ship, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The ship's voyage to Spain in June rekindled a debate inside the European Union regarding the fate of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
In addition to the Aquarius, Italy's interior minister, Matteo Salvini, turned away Germany's Lifeline, a ship carrying more than 200 migrants, in June, forcing it to dock in Malta. He has since blocked all charity-run search-and-rescue vessels from docking in Italian ports.
Italy has seen 600,000 migrants, mostly from Africa, enter its borders in the past five years. The country's new populist government has vowed to crack down on the massive influx of migrants. Salvini himself is from the anti-immigrant and euroskeptic League party.
So far this year, 1,111 migrants and refugees have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean. That is less than half of the 2,239 deaths at this point in 2017, but the rate at which deaths occur has increased — there have been less than 33,000 attempted crossings this year as opposed to 105,000 last year.
NGO ship rescues Europe-bound migrants in Mediterranean
The search-and-rescue ship Aquarius saved nearly 300 people in the Mediterranean Sea over Easter. European maritime authorities prevented the NGO workers from rescuing 80-90 men during one operation.
Image: DW/F. Warwick
First on site
At around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 31, the search-and-rescue vessel Aquarius, along with the Libyan coast guard, was alerted by the Italian Rescue Maritime Coordination Center (IMRCC) that a rubber boat was in distress in international waters. Aquarius is manned by rescue workers from SOS Mediteranee, medics from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and a nautical and technical crew.
Image: DW/F. Warwick
People in distress
Aquarius made first contact with the rubber boat in international waters at around 11:00 a.m. Soon after, the SOS head coordinator was informed by IMRCC that the Libyan coastguard would take charge of the rescue operation. As people in the overcrowded rubber boat, visibly in distress, waved frantically, Aquarius was instructed to standby and wait for further instructions.
Image: DW/F. Warwick
Helping hand
Two hours later, and with no Libyan coastguard in sight, the Aquarius was able to convince the IMRCC and the Libyans to allow them to rescue children, women and families. They evacuated 39 vulnerable people. They had to leave the remaining 80-90 men on the rubber boat to the Libyan coastguard. The Aquarius has the capacity to carry 500 rescued people.
Image: DW/F. Warwick
All in it together
MSF nurse Sylvie was on board the Aquarius' fast-speed rescue boat, whose personnel identified medical and vulnerable cases later evacuated to the NGO ship. Over the course of three missions, the staff saved 292 people from more than 20 countries, the majority from sub-Saharan Africa. Besides showing signs of dehydration, exhaustion and weakness, some also displayed signs of physical abuse.
Image: DW/F. Warwick
Having fun
As parents rested on the ship's deck, MSF logistician Francois took a moment to interact with the newly arrived children. Those rescued got a chance to bond with the ship's crew as well as to express themselves in safe and secure surroundings.
Image: DW/F. Warwick
Doctor's orders
Dr. Dan from California gave each new arrival a check-up to see whether anyone was in need of urgent medical care. Once on land, those rescued are examined by local medical staff in Italy.
Image: DW/F. Warwick
Holding tight in rough weather
As the vessel pitched and rolled in strong winds, SOS Mediteranee team member Theo cuddled a child rescued the day before. "As a seaman it's your duty to save anybody in distress," he said. "We all shed tears yesterday. I had a baby and children in my arms. We helped some women. What's the most important is to get all these out people out of the water, to save them and for them to survive."
Image: DW/F. Warwick
Thanking the Lord
As the Aquarius approached the Sicilian city of Messina, the designated Italian port of safety, many of the rescued women began singing French and English gospel songs praising the Lord and thanking him for safe passage across the Mediterranean Sea.
Image: DW/F. Warwick
On terra firma
Francois personally helped all 292 men, women and children disembark. "Emotionally it was really hard, because once the last guy stepped out on shore, it was over. I could just call everyone and say disembarkation successfully finished, and then I felt empty."
Image: DW/F. Warwick
Thank-you kiss
These lucky people made it to Europe. According to international NGOs figures, between 750,000 and 900,000 immigrants and asylum-seekers remain trapped in Libya, whose migrant detention centers the UN has called inhumane. Many see merely one way out: to attempt to cross one of the world's most deadly seas in rubber dinghies that can only be considered floating death traps.
