The city of Bochum sends SEA-EYE 4 on its fifth rescue mission in 2022

SEA-EYE 4

Ship sponsorship enables further mission despite declining donations

The rescue ship SEA-EYE 4 has left Trapani for the central Mediterranean. The fifth rescue mission this year was made possible to a large extent by the city of Bochum, which took over a ship sponsorship for the SEA-EYE 4 rescue ship in July. The sponsorship includes funding made up of budget money from the city (€ 30.000) as well as donations from the civilian population (€ 37.714, as of Aug. 30, 2022). In total, the “Bochum Saves” campaign thus resulted in funding of € 67.714, which was used for the mission preparations of the SEA-EYE 4.

“Bochum’s support came at the right time. We are currently experiencing a simultaneity of various crises, which has also led to an overall decline in donations for Sea-Eye. Bochum has shown how local commitment can find a way out of the solidarity crisis at the EU’s external borders. We hope that many more municipalities will join in,” says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

In the summer months, a particularly large number of people dare to flee the civil war country of Libya. In Tripoli, fights broke out again over the weekend in the wake of a conflict between Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha, resulting in numerous deaths.

Dr. Angelika Leist, German Doctors mission physician and ship’s doctor, accompanies the current Sea-Eye mission: „I am involved on the Sea-Eye 4 because it must not be that people fleeing from a life not worth living are put in danger of their lives and no official authority helps them. Of course, civil emergency rescue can only be a temporary solution. Actually, the EU countries should jointly organize a sea rescue and not commission the so-called Libyan coast guard with push-backs.“

Angelika von German Doctors

„In principle, of course, it would be desirable if the Western countries, together with the countries of origin, ensured that the living conditions on the ground become such that people no longer have to flee. But as long as this is not the case, I am happy to be able to help as a German Doctors mission doctor. My last medical mission in the refugee camps on Thessaloniki certainly helps me to understand the guests on board the Sea-Eye 4 and their moving causes better,“ says Leist.

German Doctors regularly provides volunteer doctors for the rescue missions of the SEA-EYE 4 and contributes financially to the operation of the onboard hospital, where a three-person team often has to treat dozens of rescued people during rescue missions.

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476 rescued people from SEA-EYE 4 allowed to go ashore in Messina

Refugees© Camilla Kranzusch

Sea-Eye criticizes unequal treatment of people seeking protection

After the 476 refugees had spent a week in cramped quarters on the SEA-EYE 4, disembarkation began today, 22.06.2022, in Messina. Yesterday, the Italian Coast Guard had assigned Messina as a port of safety to the SEA-EYE 4.

The crew of the SEA-EYE 4 had rescued 494 fleeing people from various boats in distress during the previous week. While waiting for a port, 18 people had to be evacuated from the ship for medical reasons. The people had fled the Libyan civil war in unseaworthy boats. However, many had previously fled their countries of origin. The people come from 23 different countries of origin. Among them Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali or Syria.

“There are also long-term armed conflicts or even wars in countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya, Mali or Syria. Currently, however, there are only safe passages to the EU for people fleeing Ukraine. People from all other countries of origin must continue to risk dying at European borders for the chance of safety and an asylum process. This is clearly structural racism. We need safe passages for all people seeking protection, no matter what the color of their skin or the tyrants they are fleeing,” says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

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Medical emergencies on the SEA-EYE 4 pile up

Medical Evacuation

Italian coast guard evacuates four people

The SEA-EYE 4, whose crew rescued 494* people from distress at sea during the week, arrived in Sicily on Friday morning, June 17. Due to the large number of people, it is difficult for the three-person medical team to provide adequate care to all persons. While the majority of people are in stable condition, there are many patients who require more comprehensive medical care. The Italian Coast Guard therefore evacuated four people from the ship at noon on Friday due to their health condition.

One patient who was evacuated is eight months pregnant, but has complications and can no longer feel her baby. She also has burns on her legs. Another person has a broken hand and needs an X-ray and further treatment. One person with epilepsy ran out of long-term medication. A fourth evacuated person is suffering from severe burns.

Overall, several patients have burns and some patients had inhaled fumes from fuel on the boats. Many patients are in physical discomfort as a result. Some people show signs of severe exhaustion and even trauma. Other patients were treated for hypothermia. After the evacuation of a pregnant woman, two pregnant women are now still on board. One woman is eight months pregnant and one woman is four months pregnant. Their condition is currently stable.

Medical Evacuation

“With such a high number of vulnerable people on board, there is also a high demand for medical care, which our medical team cannot cover on its own in the long term. Thanks to our cooperation with the Bonn-based aid organization German Doctors, we are very well positioned for first aid and emergency situations – but not all further treatments and necessary examinations can be carried out in our onboard hospital. Currently, for example, we are treating many people with wounds and burns caused by contact with a salt-water fuel mixture in the boats, so that our dressing material is running low. To avoid further medical evacuations, all people on board need a port of safety and medical assistance as soon as possible,” said Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

Medical Evacuation

*Note: On June 15, the total number of rescued was reported as 492. A later count recorded 494 people. Due to today’s evacuation of four patients there are currently 490 rescued people on board SEA-EYE 4.

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Sea-Eye crew prevents serious boat accident at night

Rescue

76 people rescued from sinking rubber boat

After the SEA-EYE 4 had already rescued 416 people in three rescues, the rescue ship was again notified of a maritime emergency on Wednesday evening, June 16, 2022. The organization Alarm Phone already reported to authorities that the boat was damaged in the first distress call, water was entering and people were calling for help. When the rescue ship reached the scene of the accident, there was hardly any air left in the tubes. With lights, the people tried to draw attention to themselves at night.

“The people were very lucky that the SEA-EYE 4 was less than three hours away at the time of the distress call and that they were still found in time during the night,” says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

The difficult rescue operation dragged on until midnight. Sea-Eye’s rescue boats brought 76 people onto the SEA-EYE 4.

Many of the people rescued during the night have chemical burns and therefore have to be treated in the SEA-EYE 4’s onboard hospital. This happens when fuel leaks from the rubber boats and mixes with seawater, because it creates a corrosive mixture that severely burns the skin. Those rescued also suffer from hypothermia, dehydration and severe exhaustion.

Rescue

Many of the people rescued during the night have chemical burns and therefore have to be treated in the SEA-EYE 4’s onboard hospital. This happens when fuel leaks from the rubber boats and mixes with seawater, because it creates a corrosive mixture that severely burns the skin. Those rescued also suffer from hypothermia, dehydration and severe exhaustion.

The SEA-EYE 4 is now in search of a port of safety with 492 rescued people.

“The civilian aid organizations AlarmPhone and Sea-Eye prevented a serious disaster tonight. Again, there were no reactions from state actors. The so-called Libyan Coast Guard did not react at all and this is not an isolated case. This is exactly why there are so many survivors on the SEA-EYE 4 once again, for whom we urgently need a safe place to disembark now. According to international law, this place can only be in Europe,” says Isler.

“The people rescued tonight must now come ashore quickly after receiving initial treatment on board in order to receive adequate further treatment. It is shocking that the rescue continues to depend on NGOs like us and also on the luck that sea rescuers are just nearby. The EU must finally work together to find a humane solution,” said Dr. Harald Kischlat, Chairman of German Doctors e. V.

The Bonn-based aid organization provides substantial support for the operation of the onboard hospital and regularly provides German Doctors for the missions to ensure initial medical care on the SEA EYE 4.

Rettungseinsatz
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SEA-EYE 4 rescues 416 people from distress at sea

Rescue

So-called Libyan Coast Guard obstructs rescue operations and abducts people back to Libya

The crew of the SEA-EYE 4 rescued 416 people from distress at sea with three missions in two days. Last Monday afternoon, June 13, the rescue ship came to the aid of 63 people, including 30 minors and a baby, when they were in distress in an rubber boat while fleeing across the Mediterranean Sea. Today, Wednesday morning, June 15, the crew arrived at a large, heavily overcrowded wooden boat. Many of the occupants were huddled below deck. The crew evacuated the wooden boat and safely brought all 290 people, including 19 minors, aboard the SEA-EYE 4. On Wednesday afternoon, the crew found another rubber boat and rescued 63 people, including 13 minors.

Rettungseinsatz

During the rescue on Wednesday morning, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard was present and observed the rescue operation. When it was completed, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard approached and towed away the wooden boat.

Also on Wednesday morning, the Spanish rescue ship AITA MARI arrived not far from the position of SEA-EYE 4 to a maritime emergency with over 100 people fleeing in an overcrowded rubber boat. However, the operation was disrupted by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. 17 people who had jumped into the water were rescued by the crew of the AITA MARI. The people who remained on the rubber boat were forced onto their vessel by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and abducted to Libya.

Rettungseinsatz

“Today we had to observe once again how dangerously the so-called Libyan Coast Guard acts. Financed by EU states, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard abducts fleeing people to a country of civil war, where they are exposed to the most severe human rights violations. It is well known that there are links between the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and the traffickers. Against the background of all knowledge about the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, it is a crime against humanity to cooperate with such dangerous actors. Therefore, the EU does not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, just as these militias don’t deserve the title “coast guard”. Any cooperation with the so-called Libyan Coast Guard must finally be stopped by the European side,” says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

“On the Mediterranean Sea, in the shadow of the media coverage around the Ukraine war, no less dramatic scenes are taking place. People who jump into the water out of fear of a so-called Coast Guard and risk their lives on the run – politics must finally put an end to this! It is deeply irritating that we as the EU obviously continue to accept the possible death of children, women and men who flee across the Mediterranean from poverty and violence in their countries of origin,” said Harald Kischlat, Board German Doctors e. V.

Geflüchtete

There are now 416 people on board the SEA-EYE 4 for whom a safe place to disembark is needed. The crew and medical staff are taking care of the people.

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Alliance ship SEA-EYE 4 starts third rescue mission in 2022

SEA-EYE 4

Number of distress calls to AlarmPhone increases throughout Mediterranean region

The SEA-EYE 4 departed Burriana on Saturday (04.06.2022) for its third rescue mission in 2022. The alliance ship is expected to reach the operational area in the central Mediterranean Sea on Thursday evening. Since the ship became operational in May 2021, crews have saved more than 1,600 people from drowning.

From January to the end of May 2022, the organization AlarmPhone has already received 339 distress calls from people in acute danger of life at sea. In the same period in 2021, there were 286 distress calls. In 2020, there were 225. (Source: AlarmPhone)

More than 700 people have died in the Mediterranean this year, according to the IOM. In the summer months, particularly many people tried to escape the civil war in Libya in recent years. This is because there are significantly fewer periods of bad weather during these months.

Captain of SEA-EYE 4

“We have to realize again that this is not a normal state. That every day people are calling for help, that people are drowning regularly and that there is no European state sea rescue program that brings the necessary equipment to end the dying in the Mediterranean. The EU states allow another deadly year just like that and also the new federal government remained so far inactive and lets the drowning continue. Actually, after so many months, everyone in Berlin should now have found their place and know what needs to be done,” says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

Crewmember
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21 sea rescuers charged – Day of action for solidarity in Germany

Iuventa

Joint press release by Sea-Eye, German Doctors, Refugee Rescue and United4Rescue

Organisations demand: EU states must end policy of deterrence immediately

On Saturday, 21.05.22, the preliminary hearing against 21 sea rescuers will begin in Trapani, Sicily. They are accused of “aiding and abetting unauthorised entry into Italy”. Numerous organisations express their solidarity with the defendants in the run-up to the trial. On Saturday, a day of action in Germany will take place, where Sea-Eye groups as well as activists from Seebrücke and other organisations will take to the streets.

On the occasion of the preliminary hearing Sea-Eye, German Doctors, Refugee Rescue and United4Rescue, who conduct sea rescue operations as partner organisations with the rescue ship SEA-EYE 4, have published a joint statement.

Joint Statement:

21 sea rescuers have been criminally charged for saving people from drowning. These measures must never become the normality. It must always hurt us deeply in our hearts, because otherwise, we lose nothing less than the human right to life.

At the preliminary hearing on the 21st of May, 2022, the sea rescuers will sit in the dock as a deterrent because Trapani is not about “aiding and abetting unauthorised entry into Italy”. The entire process with its 5-year investigation pursues only one goal: deterrence. Its aim would be that seafarers think twice before rescuing fleeing people from distress at sea.

After EU member states ceased their sea rescue operations in the Mediterranean in 2015, they began to block or obstruct the life-saving work of sea rescue organisations. Thus, rescue ships were detained and the disembarkation of rescued people was delayed or denied. The fact that European rescue coordination centres ignore distress calls from people in distress at sea and refuse their duty to coordinate rescue operations has become a sad reality.

All these measures are part of a cruel policy of closure that does not shy away from criminalising and prosecuting sea rescuers. The 21 defendants face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of €15,000 per rescued person.

Sea-Eye, German Doctors, Refugee Rescue and United4Rescue strongly oppose this inhumane policy of deterrence and demand the immediate termination of the proceedings against the accused sea rescuers.

Furthermore, it’s not only sea rescuers that are on the European dock. Again and again, refugees in Italy, Greece and other EU countries are accused of “aiding and abetting unauthorised entry into Italy”. In Italy alone, at least 2,500 people have been detained since 2013.

Therefore we demand that the detained refugees be released and that EU member states immediately end their anti-human course of isolation and deterrence. The EU must finally support and protect people on the run instead of criminalising them and locking them up in overcrowded camps.

To put an end to the deaths in the Mediterranean, Sea-Eye, German Doctors, Refugee Rescue and United4Rescue call for the introduction of a European sea rescue programme and the creation of legal and safe passages.

Sea-Eye, German Doctors, Refugee Rescue and United4Rescue

SEA-EYE 4 saved 24 more lives

Boat

Malta leaves 24 people in danger of death at sea

During the night from Wednesday (May 11, 2022) to Thursday, a distress call reached the SEA-EYE 4 via the organization AlarmPhone. 24 people were in distress in a small wooden boat in the Maltese search and rescue zone and called for help. The people said they had already fled Benghazi on May 8, 2022. They are from Eritrea, Sudan, Chad, Libya, Syria and Egypt. The Maltese rescue coordination center refused to coordinate rescue efforts in this case once again.

During Thursday (May 12, 2022), the oil tanker ROSS SEA approached the wooden boat. During the radio communication between the SEA-EYE 4 and the ROSS SEA, the captain of the ROSS SEA stated that he tried to reach the rescue coordination center in Malta, but received no response for a while.

The captain of the ROSS SEA radioed the SEA-EYE 4: “RCC Malta told me to keep on monitoring. They asked me to just stay around and keep on monitoring from distance.”

Boat

“We regularly receive no response from the rescue center in Malta during maritime emergencies as well. Why didn’t Malta directly ask ROSS SEA to rescue the people? Malta did not send any help for three days! By now, Malta stops at nothing to prevent people seeking protection from being able to reach Malta,” says Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

If Malta had coordinated the rescue and had it carried out by the ROSS SEA, whose next port of destination would have been the Maltese capital Valletta, Malta would have had to take in the people seeking protection, because Malta was the next port of safety as well as the port of destination of the ROSS SEA.

“In recent days, we have once again witnessed Malta instructing even merchant ships that are required to provide assistance because they are legally obligated to do so, to keep their distance from people seeking protection in distress at sea. These methods are inhumane and violate basic human rights,” Isler continued.

Refugees

The SEA-EYE 4 reached the wooden boat on Friday night (May 13, 2022). The crew was able to safely take all 24 people on board and provide them with first aid.

“They are all extremely exhausted. Most of their clothes are soaked and therefore they are hypothermic. It is obvious that they are psychologically traumatized due to 6 days and nights at sea,” says Daniela Klein, doctor of German Doctors on board of SEA-EYE 4.

On May 8, 2022, the SEA-EYE 4 had already taken over 34 people from the cargo ship BSG BAHAMAS, whose crew had rescued the refugees from a small wooden boat. In this case Malta had refused to coordinate the rescue operation as well, so the MRCC Bremen had stepped in. Now the SEA-EYE 4 is in search of a port of safety for the total of 58 people seeking protection.

Refugees
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German authorities ask SEA-EYE 4 for help in rescuing 34 people

BSG BAHAMAS

Hapag-Lloyd container ship BERLIN EXPRESS receives no assistance from Malta

On Friday evening (06.05.2022), the organization Alarm Phone reported a distress call in international waters north of Benghazi. The container ship BERLIN EXPRESS of Hamburg-based shipping line Hapag-Lloyd was the first ship at the scene and found a small, overcrowded wooden boat with 34 people. The incident occurred in the Maltese search and rescue zone. However, the Maltese rescue coordination center repeatedly violated its coordination duties and referred to the responsibility of the flag state. The BERLIN EXPRESS sails under German flag and has its home port in Hamburg.

Due to the weather and in particular the height of the freeboard, the Hamburg container ship was unable to rescue the people directly without further endangering their lives. The crew of the BERLIN EXPRESS provided the people seeking protection with food as well as drinking water, launched a life raft and stayed with the 34 people until they were rescued. A Hapag-Lloyd employee told Sea-Eye that one crew member was injured in the process. After returning and receiving treatment on the BERLIN EXPRESS, the crew member is doing well.

Boat

German authorities contacted Sea-Eye’s head of mission on Saturday morning to seek solutions to the difficult situation. The SEA-EYE 4 was 40 hours away from the case at the time.

On Saturday afternoon, the German rescue control center MRCC Bremen contacted the SEA-EYE 4 and asked to provide assistance to the BERLIN EXPRESS. The SEA-EYE 4 therefore left its operational area east of Tripoli and set course for the position of the BERLIN EXPRESS.

Several cargo vessels reached the BERLIN EXPRESS before the SEA-EYE 4, including the BSG BAHAMAS, which is managed by the Hamburg-based CPO Containerschiffreederei GmbH & Co. KG. Sunday at noon, the crew of the BSG BAHAMAS finally succeeded in rescuing the 34 people and evacuating them to the BSG BAHAMAS. At this point, the people had already been at sea for four nights.

BSG BAHAMAS

“The BSG Bahamas, which we manage, was requested by MRCC Bremen to participate in the rescue of 34 people while en route from Alexandria to Tangier Med, west of Malta. Our vessel reached the position after dark, with 7.20m freeboard and 2m swell the immediate rescue was deemed too dangerous for those to be rescued. After sunrise, our captain, with full support from the shipping company and close cooperation with the MRCC Bremen, decided to take the people on board with his crew and provide them with care. Except for two obviously seasick persons, they are doing well so far according to our knowledge. We thank our captain and his crew for their excellent seamanship, a prerequisite for the successful execution of such a rescue operation,” said Ortwin Mühr, spokesman for CPO Containerschiffreederei GmbH & Co. KG from Hamburg.

The BERLIN EXPRESS was then able to continue its voyage.

“Our captain and his crew did an outstanding job and there was no question from the first minute that we would help the people in distress as best we could,” said Silke Muschitz, Head of Fleet Management at Hapag-Lloyd. “We would like to express our sincere thanks for the good support we received from Sea-Eye. Our captains were in constant exchange and the situation showed us once again how important good cooperation is when rescuing people in distress at sea,” Muschitz added.

Late Sunday afternoon, the SEA-EYE 4 encountered the BSG BAHAMAS. After the captain of the container ship asked the SEA-EYE 4 to take over the rescued persons, the joint medical team of Sea-Eye and German Doctors visited the BSG BAHAMAS to assess the situation. Both captains agreed that the 34 rescued people could be better cared for and medically treated on the rescue ship SEA-EYE 4 than on a container ship. Therefore, the SEA-EYE 4 took over all 34 rescued people early Sunday evening. The SEA-EYE 4 has a trained medical team, an on-board hospital, enough provisions and sleeping places for the 34 completely exhausted survivors, who have now had to hold out at sea for around four days.

SEA-EYE 4

“Without the crews of the BERLIN EXPRESS and the BSG BAHAMAS, the people would have had no chance to survive. They would have died of thirst or drowned,” said Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V. “It should not have come that far. The distress case finally occurred in the Maltese search and rescue zone. Once again, Malta refused responsibility and coordination, so the German rescue coordination center in Bremen was forced to coordinate a distress call in the Mediterranean.”

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Libyan Coast Guard threatens rescue ship SEA-EYE 4

So-called Libyan Coast Guard

Threats in international waters

Early Wednesday morning, the so-called Libyan Coast Guard threatened the rescue ship SEA-EYE 4 and urged it to leave “Libyan territory”. However, the SEA-EYE 4 was in international waters at the time, where ships are allowed to move freely according to international laws.

The Libyan warship, marked 660, circled the SEA-EYE 4 for 50 minutes at a distance of about 500 meters and repeated its threats several times, then turned away to head west.

SEA-EYE 4’s head of mission informed the Maritime Distress Control Center in Rome and the German authorities about the incident. The so-called Libyan Coast Guard has threatened rescue ships with violence several times in recent years and even fired warning shots. Ongoing rescue missions have also been repeatedly disrupted by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, in some cases causing people to drown.

So-called Libyan Coast Guard

“EU member states are funding the so-called Libyan Coast Guard to keep people from fleeing Libya. In doing so, these EU states are supporting violent and unpredictable actors. These unscrupulous militias are a political tool. Every time the so-called Libyan Coast Guard drags people back into civil war, obstructs rescue operations or threatens sea rescuers, EU member states accept a significant share of responsibility for these crimes. The EU must stop cooperating with the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and ensure safe passages for all people seeking protection,” says Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

So-called Libyan Coast Guard
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