Ships fear rescuing persons at sea because of closed ports

Insider reporters
|
14 August 2018
Insider reporters
14 August 2018
photo: https://onboard-aquarius.org/ the Aquarius rescued 141 shipwrecked persons

 VALLETTA - Once again European governments have ignored the NGO rescue ship, the Aquarius, as the crew request the opening of a safe port to disembark rescued persons, SOS Mediterranean officials inform.

 Having started up rescue missions again just last week, the Aquarius is stuck again at sea, this time with 141 rescued migrants on board – 67 of which are unaccompanied minors.

 SOS Mediterrenean and Medecins Sans Frontieres are calling on EU governments to offer ‘a safe landing place as close as possible' but have so far had no response.

 On Friday, the Aquarius rescued the two wooden boats in the international waters of the Libyan Search and Rescue Region, but before the rescue, five other ships had passed the shipwrecks and ignored their distress signal. This is a violation of international waters code, as every vessel is obliged to perform a rescue if it encounters shipwrecked persons.

 The NGOs have denounced the irresponsibility of EU governments closing their ports, as it has led to the “unwillingness of other ships to respond to those who are in difficulty because of the high risk of getting stuck and being denied a safe landing place, forcing them to break maritime law.”

 With 70 per cent of the migrants aboard the Aquarius coming from Somalia and Eritrea, countries whose citizens are under UN humanitarian protection, it would be logical that the Italian government would take responsibility for the rescue of these persons. However, Salvini’s only response was: “The Aquarius will never again see an Italian port.”

Danilo Toninelli, the Transport Minister, tweeted on Monday; "The Aquarius ship is now in Maltese waters and is asking to dock in Gibraltar. At this point the United Kingdom needs to assume its responsibility for the protection of the survivors."

 With regards to Libya, the Aquarius team had declared Libya as an unsafe place to dock, and insisted that the Libyan Coast Guard are not set up to perform these rescue missions: "European governments have said again and again that these rescues are up to the Libyan Coast Guard, but recent events have proven that they have absolutely no ability to coordinate a rescue," said Aloys Vimard, MSF coordinator aboard Aquarius.

 In response to these updates, Maria Serrano, Amnesty International’s Senior Campaigner on Migration, has said: “European governments must stop playing with human lives. Italy and Malta’s disgraceful refusal to allow refugees and migrants to disembark in their ports is pure cruelty. These individuals have braved dangerous journeys and inhumane conditions in Libya only to be stranded at sea as governments shamelessly abdicate their responsibility to protect."
 
 “What’s equally alarming is that the Gibraltar, under whose flag Aqurius has been sailing, has threatened to terminate the registration of the ship in a bureaucratic manoeuvre designed to frustrate life-saving search and rescue operations at sea. The relentless efforts of NGOs to rescue lives at sea should be celebrated, not hindered or punished."
 
 “We are calling on European leaders to urgently agree on a predictable and reliable search and rescue system that ensures the prompt disembarkation of survivors at the closest safe port, upholds the law of the sea and the primacy of saving lives in the Mediterranean. Coastal States must ensure their ports are open to those who have been rescued, and other European governments must share the responsibility of processing asylum claims by taking in asylum-seekers.”

 On Wednesday, six EU countries reached an agreement to share out the migrants on board the Aquarius: according to El Pais, citing sources from the Madrid government. Once the vessel has docked in Malta, the migrants will be divided up: Spain will accept 60, Portugal will accept 30 and France will also take responsibility. The other countries have not yet been disclosed.

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