SEA-EYE 4 starts second mission of the year
Sea rescuers criticize German government for planned tightening of asylum law
The SEA-EYE 4 departed Burriana on Friday evening (19.05.2023) for the second rescue mission in 2023. Now the crew is on its way to the Central Mediterranean Sea. There, the rescue ship is urgently needed, because this year alone, more than 1,000 people have already died in the search for protection.
At the same time, a planned reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) is being discussed in Europe. The German government indicated its support for this de facto withdrawal from refugee protection in the European Union. Together with over 50 other civil society organizations, Sea-Eye e.V. has issued an appeal to the German government, in which the alliance calls on the German government and specifically Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) to live up to their humanitarian responsibilities and keep key promises made in their coalition agreement.
“If the federal government agrees to the CEAS reform in June, all ministers of the coalition together will be responsible for the most far-reaching asylum law tightening in post-war history and will violate their own coalition agreement. We therefore urge the federal government to desist from the planned changes and finally return to a human rights-based policy“, says Gorden Isler, chairman of Sea-Eye e.V.
The current mission is once again accompanied bei German Doctor’s mission doctor. The organizations Sea-Eye e.V. and German Doctors are now working together for the third year to save as many people as possible from drowning. How often the SEA-EYE 4 will be able to sail in 2023 remains unclear. None of the four planned missions in 2023 has yet been financed.
Before the SEA-EYE 4 could start its current mission, the ship was in dry dock. There, maintenance and repair work was carried out and the ship’s certification was renewed. The majority of the costs for the shipyard were borne by United4Rescue. The alliance initiated by EKD to support civil sea rescue spent a total of 200,000€ to make its second alliance ship operational for the rest of the year.
“We are immensely grateful to the United4Rescue alliance and all partners supporting the alliance for civili sea rescue for their crucial support during this particularly costly shipyard period. It is important that our SEA-EYE 4 is finally ready for operation again,” says Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e.V.
