First mission for Sea-Eye since Giorgia Meloni’s extreme right-wing government took office.

The SEA-EYE 4 departed from Burriana on Wednesday (07.12.2022) for the sixth and final rescue mission in 2022. The ongoing mission is largely made possible by the civilian sea rescue alliance United4Rescue. “Without the help of the alliance, which is supported by more than 850 institutions, the current mission could not be financed,” says Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e.V.

The Regensburg sea rescuers have been suffering from a massive drop in donations for months. A funding of 300,000 € by United4Rescue and further funding of 25,000 € by the UNO-Flüchtlingshilfe and 15,000 € by Civilfleet Support e.V. now enable the SEA-EYE 4 to return to the central Mediterranean. Since the alliance ship set off on its first rescue mission in May 2021, the crews have saved more than 2,300 people from drowning.

“We are delighted that, thanks to our support, the SEA-EYE 4 was able to set off on its next mission and will be saving lives again in the coming days,” said Ansgar Gilster, board member of United4Rescue. “No rescue ship should be left in port because there is no money – that’s what we stand for with our broad alliance.”

For the SEA-EYE 4, this is the first mission since the change of government in Italy. Already in the first weeks of the extreme right-wing government under Giorgia Meloni, the situation for civil sea rescue organizations in the Mediterranean has rapidly escalated. Prime Minister Meloni, as well as other members of the cabinet, did not only radically ramp up rhetorically. In November, for example, the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, issued an illegal decree in an attempt to massively restrict the fundamental right to asylum and to deny refugees the right to apply for asylum on European soil, contrary to current law.

“In this situation, it is all the more important that we as a civic society stand up for the human right to bodily integrity. We will continue to stand together against the dying in the Mediterranean, and we demand a clear shift of course in refugee and migration policy from politicians,” says Dr Harald Kischlat, Chairman of German Doctors e.V.

The Bonn-based humanitarian aid organization German Doctors e.V. is once again providing the mission doctor on board. The organizations Sea-Eye and German Doctors want to continue working together in 2023 to save as many people as possible from drowning. How often the SEA-EYE 4 will be able to embark in 2023 is uncertain. Sea-Eye received significantly fewer donations this year than in the same period last year. 

“We have to emphasize now that we will do fewer missions in the coming year if the situation does not improve quickly. Already the first planned mission in the coming year is seriously endangered,” says Isler.

82 people are missing

From Sunday to Monday (September 4th-5th), the crew of the rescue ship SEA-EYE 4 searched for a distress case in the Maltese Search and Rescue Zone, which had been reported by AlarmPhone to the SEA-EYE 4 and the Maltese Rescue Control Center. AlarmPhone sent updated coordinates several times until it lost communication with the 82 people.

The Maltese Rescue Coordination Center made no discernible attempts to locate the boat. The Maltese Rescue Coordination Center claimed that they had “no information” during a phone call with an AlarmPhone employee. Finally, the AlarmPhone employee was accused of blocking the phone line for other maritime emergencies.

Due to the size of the search area, it was not possible for the SEA-EYE 4 to find the boat without updated coordinates. There is no information on the whereabouts of the 82 people. Although the maritime emergency occurred in the Maltese Search and Rescue Zone, Malta did not involve the SEA-EYE 4 in a coordinated search.

“After intensive days of searching by our crew, we know nothing about the fate of the people who called for help in the Search and Rescue Zone of an EU member state. Had Malta sent a surveillance aircraft and involved us in the search, we might have found the people. At least that is what the Maltese Rescue Center would have done if they had been Europeans in distress at sea,” says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.

Already on September 2nd, the crew of the SEA-EYE 4 rescued 76 people from a small, double-decker wooden boat in distress at sea. The distress case had been previously reported by NADIR of the organization Resqship. Among the rescued people are 17 unaccompanied minors and one child. In the following days, the medical team had to treat several patients in the onboard hospital.

On Tuesday, September 6th, the condition of one patient deteriorated massively. He suffered from severe pain in his abdomen and had a fever. The SEA-EYE 4 then requested a medical evacuation from Malta, whereupon the patient was brought ashore by helicopter for medical treatment.

Yesterday evening (September 6th), the SEA-EYE 4 took over 54 previously rescued people from the RISE ABOVE because it is better equipped to care for them.

“The additional 54 refugees – including 30 minors – were very weakened and dehydrated when they were taken on board the RISE ABOVE. For three days they had held out on their boat without food or drink. In the meantime, they have all been stabilized. Since they are young and none of them has a chronic illness, we are confident that the new guests will at least remain physically stable,” explains Dr. Angelika Leist, German Doctors mission physician and ship’s doctor on board the SEA-EYE 4.

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.

There are now 129 people on board the SEA-EYE 4, including 48 minors, 47 of whom are unaccompanied. The crew has asked for a port of safety in Italy.

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.“

„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.

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.

“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.

*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.

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.

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.

“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.

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.