ALAN KURDI Underway For Its Next Mission

ALAN KURDI in the Mediterranean

Safety precautions of the highest level are taken in the event of a corona outbreak on board

  • Sea-Eye ship ready to rescue again after several weeks of shipyard break
  • ALAN KURDI will be the only rescue ship in the area
  • Crew of the “Sea-Watch 4” carries out final repairs
  • new safety precautions in case of a corona outbreak

After an eight-week break, the German rescue ship ALAN KURDI is now back in service. More than 60 volunteers prepared the ALAN KURDI for 2020. On Monday afternoon, the Spanish authorities gave the green light to cast off. In the meantime, the crew of German captain Bärbel Beuse and the Austrian head of mission Stefan Schütz have reached international waters.

“Despite all the difficulties, my crew showed up, trained and is ready for action. How could we stay in port now when not a single rescue vessel is currently present? As human beings, it is our duty to do everything reasonable to save other people’s lives ”, says Bärbel Beuse, captain of ALAN KURDI.

It’s the second time Beuse is commanding a rescue mission aboard ALAN KURDI.

“Sea-Eye was founded to save people from drowning. Every single life is of immeasurable value. No human life is dispensable or less valuable. That is why the ALAN KURDI is on its way to action”, explains Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V., regarding the mission during the corona crisis.

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The sea rescuers are facing great difficulties when it comes to getting assigned a safe harbor, should they have to conduct rescue operations.

“Even in this crisis, we rely on the responsibility and courageous political action of our flag state. We are in close contact with the German authorities”, continues Isler.

Due to the corona crisis, the operational management of the association has taken further security precautions and established an “outbreak management plan”.

“German high sea vessels have the highest security requirements anyway. In addition, we have sufficient personal protective equipment for our crew on board”, says Jan Ribbeck, mission manager.

The ALAN KURDI is expected to reach the Libyan search and rescue zone this weekend.

Due to the Corona crisis, no civil sea rescue organization has been able to send a rescue ship to the central Mediterranean for weeks. Travel restrictions have severely affected the arrival and departure of crew members. The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) recently reported that hundreds of refugees were prevented from fleeing the ongoing civil war by the so-called Libyan coast guard. How many people vanished at sea unnoticed in recent weeks is unknown.

“It is a miracle that we were able to put together a crew, train them and prepare them for the special circumstances”, says Isler.

Due to the Corona crisis, repairs on ALAN KURDI could not be completed on schedule. Many shipyard workers had to return to their families early. Most recently, the crew members of the new rescue ship “Sea-Watch 4” helped to complete the repairs. The “Sea-Watch 4” is also being prepared for its first rescue operation in Burriana. The ALAN KURDI is currently the only rescue ship that is on its way to the Libyan search and rescue zone.

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Malta evacuates 78 rescued people from rescue ship ALAN KURDI

Sea-Eye vessel awaiting scheduled maintenance works in Spanish shipyard

  • Maltese Army evacuates 78 rescued people
  • Situation in Libya out of control, according to UNHCR
  • Rescued people report traumatic experiences at sea
  • Sea-Eye collects donations for maintenance work

Last Saturday, the tenth crew of the German rescue ship ALAN KURDI saved a total of 78 lives from two unseaworthy boats. Four days later, the Maltese Army evacuated the rescued at sea. On Sunday, the Maltese authorities had still refused to disembark the rescued. Malta had declared that it is neither responsible nor has additional capacity to accommodate those rescued and seeking protection, and that there would be an agreement with other EU member states. Therefore, the ship was instructed to contact the nearest coastal state.

Despite the bad weather and overall dangerous flight conditions, a particularly large number of people are fleeing Libya these days. Aid organizations such as Sea-Eye have saved around 800 people in the past few days. The UNHCR said a week ago that the situation in Libya was “out of control” and that “minimal security standards for refugees” could no longer be guaranteed. The attempt to revive the European naval mission “Sophia” failed due to the governments of Austria and Italy.

Aboard the ALAN KURDI, 78 rescued people from 20 different countries of origin had to wait for a port of safety to be assigned to the ship. Some of the rescued reported spending three days on their journey and crossing the Bouri Oilfield. A cargo ship had crossed their course but simply ignored and avoided them. The rescued from the second boat reported to Sea-Eye’s human rights observer that they were terrified when several sharks circled their boat.

When head of mission Johanna Pohl informed the rescued people on Tuesday evening that they will be picked up by a Maltese military ship to be taken to Malta, many refugees expressed great fear of being brought back to Libya. It was only with great effort that the crew was able to calm the people down and convincingly convey that this is not the reason why Malta is not letting the ALAN KURDI go to port in Malta.

The ALAN KURDI has now set course for the Spanish port of Burriana. There, the 70-year-old rescue ship will be subjected to scheduled maintenance. The last time the ALAN KURDI was in dry dock was in May. Since then, the ship has completed seven other missions. Not a single mission was completed without one or several rescues.

“We will never forget these many, difficult hours. Now we have to collect up to € 120,000 for the maintenance and replacement of two generators. We hope that we can start the eleventh mission mid-March, ” said Gorden Isler – Chairman, Sea-Eye e. V.

The Regensburg sea rescuers will then be able to continue operations for the rest of the year.

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Two rescue operations in one day

Rescue Ship ALAN KURDI Saves 78 Lives

On Saturday morning the German rescue ship ALAN KURDI of the Regensburg NGO Sea-Eye e. V. was informed of an emergency at sea. The organization Watch the Med – Alarmphone received an emergency call from the people on board the inflatable boat and forwarded it to the rescue ship and the responsible authorities.

After several hours the boat was found around 9:00 a.m. At that point, water was already entering the rubber dinghy, the shell of which was made of thin material, similar to truck tarpaulin. There are 8 women and 7 children among the 62 rescued, the youngest child is just six months old.

A short time after the rescue, a ship of the so-called Libyan coast guard was also on site and instructed the ALAN KURDI to leave the Libyan search and rescue zone.

“The so-called Libyan coast guard treats the search and rescue zone like territorial waters, repeatedly harasses civilian rescue workers and issues illegal instructions. They do not posess this authority at all and these militia, supported by the EU, are consciously accepting risking human lives,” says head of mission Johanna Pohl from aboard the ship.

Only a few minutes after the first rescue, ALAN KURDI received a call to render assistance from a cargo ship that had sighted a boat in distress. The ALAN KURDI reached the boat with 16 people on it in the early afternoon and proceeded to evacuate them from the unseaworthy boat. Three of the rescued people were severely dehydrated and had to receive medical treatment on board immediately.

Even though the allocation of a port of safety for rescue ships has improved in recent weeks, it is still too early to speak of a normalization of sea rescue according to international law standards.

“It is a legal obligation to bring people to a safe place as quickly as possible. Even if we see approaches of a distribution mechanism, the protection of people must be the top priority. The EU and all its member states must support Italy in this and act in solidarity in the European sense. The Mediterranean cannot be left unprotected,” says Sea-Eye spokesman Julian Pahlke.

After a long phase with bad weather and high seas, the ALAN KURDI set off on January 17th for the search and rescue area. The ship has been patrolling the central Mediterranean for the past few days. The German-Spanish crew consists of rescue workers from Sea-Eye and the Spanish aid organization Proem Aid.

Libya Summit: Sea-Eye Calls For Human Rights-Based And Humanitarian, European Politics

Refugee on Bord ALAN KURDI© sea-eye.org

The Security Of The People In Libya Must Have Top Priority

A few days after Sea-Eye founder Michael Buschheuer was awarded the Georg Elser Prize for special civil courage and civil disorder in Munich for the founding the civil sea rescue organization Sea-Eye, the German government received dictators and warlords in the German capital the following Sunday.

On the occasion of the so-called Libya Summit in Berlin, Sea-Eye is addressing important demands to the Federal Government and the Chancellor.

Europe must find a way to a human rights-based and humanitarian common foreign policy. The federal government must use its influence to promote peace in Libya and to create safe shelters for refugees in Libya who should ideally be under the control of the United Nations instead of Libyan militia officers, traffickers or warlords. Cooperating with an opaque, violent network of Libyan coast guards must be replaced by a European naval operation designed to save as many people as possible from drowning. Civil sea rescue organizations must be supported and promoted in their efforts to save lives. The maritime rescue control centers in Rome and Valletta must return to cooperating with the aid organizations. Working together saved tens of thousands of lives between 2016 and 2018. Families with children and unaccompanied minors must be evacuated from Libya immediately for humanitarian reasons. The best way to combat human trafficking and smugglers is by using humanitarian corridors and safe escape routes.

“How can you, on the one hand, seriously negotiate with warlords about a ceasefire in Libya and at the same time have come to the view that it is okay to systematically prevent people from fleeing and force them back to this country of civil war?” asks Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye.

Together with other EU member states, the Federal Government supports and finances the so-called Libyan coast guard to intercept people fleeing over the Mediterranean sea and bring them back to the civil war country. Experts on international law speak of an undermining of basic human rights.

“It is precisely through this cycle of uncontrollable camps, intercepting people in the Mediterranean and returning them to these camps that an unbearable mechanism of systematic human rights violations emerged, the political architects of which are located in the governments of Europe,” said Julian Pahlke, spokesman for Sea-Eye.

The rescue ship ALAN KURDI itself was attacked and threatened by an armed Libyan militia during an emergency rescue operation at sea in October 2019. For the so-called Zuwara Maritime Police, this incident had no consequences. A rescued woman told the human rights observer on board ALAN KURDI in November that she had to watch a Somali woman’s newborn baby being fed to a wild dog in a Libyan camp.

“The federal government cannot call the reduced number of asylum applications in Germany and Europe a success, while the people in Libya pay the highest possible price for it. The crimes against the people of Libya go beyond the meaning of the word violence. We expect that the safety of fleeing people has top priority in the talks in Berlin. The federal government is responsible,” continues Isler.

Rescue Ship ALAN KURDI leaves Palermo for the Central Mediterranean

ALAN KURDI© Nick Jaussi / sea-eye.org

The rescue ship ALAN KURDI left the port of Palermo on Friday afternoon and is on its way to the central Mediterranean. The goal: Saving Lives. Because a lot of people are still trying to flee across the Mediterranean.

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ALAN KURDI crews saved 443 people in 2019

ALAN KURDI lifeboats on the Mediterranean© Jana Stallein/sea-eye.org

At the end of 2019, we look back and see many individual fates that we were fortunately able to help. We would like to introduce four of these people to you and show you what your help can do.

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Sea-Eye rescue ship ALAN KURDI docks in Pozzallo and brings 32 people to safety

Weakened woman in the sick bay© Jana Stallein/sea-eye.org

Mission of 2nd Christmas Eve comes to a good end

  • ALAN KURDI docks in Pozzallo
  • 32 rescued persons can go ashore
  • Malta refused to evacuate weakened women and children
  • Guiseppe Conte announced a revision of the strict security policy

The German rescue ship ALAN KURDI docked in the port of Pozzallo on Sunday morning. The 32 survivors sent an emergency call to the aid organization AlarmPhone on Christmas Eve. The Libyan authorities and the civil rescue ships ALAN KURDI and OCEAN VIKING were informed immediately. During the night from Thursday to Friday, the crew of the Regensburg organization found a total of 32 people in a crowded plastic boat. All survivors stated that they were Libyan citizens.

Already on Saturday evening, the head of mission of the ALAN KURDI rescue ship was informed about the assignment of a port of safety by the Italian MRCC. The ship had only been present in the Italian search and rescue zone for a few hours. Earlier on Saturday, the ship had requested an emergency evacuation of ten of the people aboard from the authorities at the Maltese MRCC. Two women and several children had consumed no food or water due to seasickness and stress and were therefore dehydrated. The Maltese rescue control center declined to evacuate.

“We are really relieved that the rescued people no longer had to wait on board our ship. We were increasingly concerned about the medical condition of some people and the upcoming storm,“ said chairman Gorden Isler.

The human rights observer on board the ALAN KURDI interviewed some survivors. One man reported that was to be conscripted for mandatory military service in the Libyan civil war and fled because he did not want to kill people. He and his partner further stated that they considered the crossing the Mediterranean as a last resort. Sea-Eye is still evaluating the interviews.

On Saturday the Italian President Guiseppe Conte stated that he wants to revise Salvini’s security policy. Under the former Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, draconian sanctions against rescue workers and rescue vessels were introduced.

Julian Pahlke, spokesman for Sea-Eye on the political developments in Italy: “Salvini’s policy of closed ports must end immediately. The so-called security packages have not only fueled the xenophobic climate, they also contradict international law and fundamental human rights. The President’s announcement must now be followed up with action. We have to find a humanitarian view of this crisis at our shared external borders. At the same time, however, all EU member states must support the Mediterranean countries and agree on a joint distribution of all the people saved.“

Distress Call on the second Christmas evening

Rescue of children on second Christmas day 2019© Jana Stallein/sea-eye.org

On the second Christmas evening, the crew of the rescue vessel ALAN KURDI received an emergency call. The German flagged rescue ship had only reached the Libyan search and rescue zone a few hours earlier. Not a minute too soon, because a storm is coming.

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Christmas in the Mediterranean Sea – Rescue Vessel ALAN KURDI sails from Palermo

ALAN KURDI in the Mediterranean

Catholic Church in Paderborn finances Sea-Eye’s Christmas Mission

  •     Mayor of Palermo says goodbye to ALAN KURDI crew
  •     Tailwind for Regensburg sea rescuers from the Archdiocese of Paderborn
  •     Support from the city of Constance
  •     Sea-Eye establishes sea rescue base in Palermo

The German rescue ship ALAN KURDI left the port of Palermo on Friday evening. Mayor Leoluca Orlando came by in person to wish the crew a successful mission and a safe return. Previously, he had received the crew in Palermo City Hall and given the flag of Palermo to Captain Uwe Doll.

The Regensburg sea rescuers get support from the Archdiocese of Paderborn. Since donations became scarce in October, one mission had to be canceled already. Vicar General Alfons Hardt contacted Sea-Eye and secured immediate support from the Archdiocese to ensure that the ALAN KURDI can continue its mission at the turn of the year.

“The support from Paderborn was not a day early. Fleeing across the Mediterranean sea is particularly dangerous at this time of year. We are infinitely grateful to Archbishop Hans-Josef Becker, who repeatedly makes it clear that it is our human duty to save the lives of those seeking protection,” said Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye.

The call for help in October was also followed by members of the city of Constance. Sea-Eye received an emergency contribution of over € 5,000. In addition to Hamburg, Constance is the second German city to support Sea-Eye financially and to follow up the commitment of becoming a safe harbor with further, concrete measures.

Palermo is to become the new sea rescue base for ALAN KURDI. From now on, the ship is to start rescue operations from Palermo.

“After the crash landing of Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, the Italian ports are open again,” said Julian Pahlke, spokesman for Sea-Eye.

Previously, the ALAN KURDI had to start from Spain. The shorter journey from Palermo allows for longer periods of search and rescue activities with the ALAN KURDI in the Libyan search and rescue zone as well as lower operational costs.

“We like being in Palermo. The mayor and the people there welcomed us with open arms. So we want to build our new base there,” Pahlke continues.