Migrant Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean Sea - Medecins Sans Frontieres
EVERY year, thousands of people fleeing violence, insecurity, and persecution at home attempt a treacherous journey via North Africa and across the Mediterranean to reach Europe. And every year, countless lives are lost on these journeys.
In 2014 alone, more than 3,400 people are thought to have died during the crossing; already in 2015, more than 1,500 people have been left to drown.
"A mass grave is being created in the Mediterranean Sea," says Loris De Filippi, president of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Italy.
"Faced with thousands of desperate people fleeing wars and crises, Europe has closed its borders, forcing people in search of protection to risk their lives and die at sea. There is no more time to think, these lives must be saved now."
Recent Rescues
Since operations began on Saturday 9 May, 2015, MSF’s Argos ship has assisted with the rescue of 1,556 people. In addition to the Bourbon Argos, MSF teams also work on board the MY Phoenix, a search and rescue vessel run by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station), providing post rescue care. The Phoenix has assisted with the rescue of 2,293 people since operations began on Saturday 2 May, 2015.
Friday, 19 June
Dignity I rescues 299 rescued people, 22 women - two of them pregnant - and 14 children. Most of the people rescued came from Gambia and Senegal, with others from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Mali
Bourbon Argos rescues 345 people from a wooden fishing vessel and later transports the 299 people from Dignity 1 and 88 people from a German warship to Italy. A total of 732 people are rescued and transported in a single day.
Saturday, 6 June
Phoenix: 372 people (184 men, 126 women and 25 children under five)
Wednesday, 3 June
First rescue, Bourbon Argos: 99 people (12 women, three pregnant)
Second rescue, Bourbon Argos: 208 people (transferred from British Navy ship)
Monday, 1 June
First rescue, Bourbon Argos: 7.15 am, 103 people (all men)
Second rescue, Bourbon Argos: 9:15 am, 119 people
Third rescue, Bourbon Argos: 9:31 am, 102 people, among them eight women.
"Nobody deserves to drown at sea" - Simon Bryant, MSF doctor
In partnership with MOAS, MSF joint teams are stationed in the central Mediterranean aboard the MY Phoenix, a 40 metre rescue ship. (Track the ship's location.)
Equipped with high-speed, rigid-hull inflatable boats and surveillance cam-copters, and with a crew of 20, the ship will provide lifesaving support to those in distress.
Two MSF doctors and a nurse with the necessary skills, equipment and drugs to provide lifesaving emergency care and treat conditions such as dehydration, fuel burns, severe sunburns, and hypothermia.
They are also equipped to deal with more complex emergencies, including obstetric emergencies, and able to provide resuscitation and basic life support.
The operation will be conducted between May and October 2015, at a time the number of desperate people attempting to cross the Mediterranean is expected to peak.
MOAS was responsible for saving 3,000 lives in the Mediterranean last year; their proven expertise in search and rescue will be crucial to the success of the overall operation.
Who will be rescued?
Refugees, migrants and asylum seekers are not interchangeable terms. The following is a brief explanation of the very different legal definitions:
- A refugee is a person who has fled his or her country and cannot return because of a well-founded fear of persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, or membership of a particular social group. Refugee status is assessed by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees or a sympathetic state.
- An asylum-seeker is someone who says he or she is a refugee and is seeking asylum in another country, but whose claim has not yet been definitively evaluated.
- A migrant is someone who chooses to move in order to improve the future prospects of themselves and their families.
As a humanitarian agency involved in search and rescue, MSF does not have a mandate or means to assess the immigration status of the people we assist.
We provide medical care without judgment and strongly believe that no human being should drown when the means exist to prevent it.
A compromise to MSF’s neutrality?
We feel compelled first and foremost to assist people who are dying in the Mediterranean right now. We have the means and, for us, ignoring the problem is not an option.
Of course, we are aware that by doing this we are entering a very contentious political debate in Europe. But we believe that inaction cannot be justified on ideological grounds and that, in fact, as a medical organisation that takes its cues from medical ethics, we must take action. Find out more about our principles.
Where will the people rescued at sea be taken?
Our primary aim is to prevent loss of life, not to provide transport.
When a situation arises in which we must intervene, we do so under the direction of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome.
They also decide where those we rescue should disembark, as dictated by the laws of the sea.
As a rule, those we rescue will be taken either to reception centers in southern Italy (Sicily) or transferred from the Phoenix to an Italian coast guard vessel.
New Addition
MSF has introduced a third vessel to the operation to assist people crossing the Mediterranean Sea. 50 metre-long MV Dignity I will take up assistance at sea duties this June. It will carry a crew of 18, including medical staff.
The MSF page is updated regularly with news and information as the operation progresses.
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