Status: 05/09/2022 11:41 a.m
The rescue ship “Sea-Eye 4” has rescued 34 people in distress – in the Maltese rescue zone. However, the operation was coordinated from Bremen. The aid organization is now making serious allegations against Malta.
The German rescue ship “Sea-Eye 4” rescued 34 people from the Mediterranean Sea in response to a request from the German authorities. The incident happened in the Maltese search and rescue zone north of the Libyan city of Benghazi.
As the aid organization “Sea-Eye” announced, the Maltese rescue control center did not organize the operation itself, but referred to Germany’s responsibility because a container ship sailing under the German flag had encountered the people in distress. The aid organization accuses Malta of “repeatedly violating its coordination obligations”.
What happened?
The organization “Alarm Phone” had already reported a maritime emergency in international waters north of Benghazi on Friday evening. According to its own statements, the “Sea-Eye 4” was radioed by the rescue control center in Bremen on Saturday.
The content of the radio message: The container ship “Berlin Express”, sailing under the German flag, encountered a “small, overcrowded wooden boat” with 34 people, but could not save the people because of the weather and the height of the ship.
The crew provided those seeking protection with food and drinking water, launched a life raft and stayed with the people until they were rescued.
“Sea-Eye 4” 40 hours from the scene of the accident
According to its own statements, the “Sea-Eye 4” was 40 hours away from the scene of the accident at the time of the radio message. While the rescue ship was heading for the scene of the accident, a second container ship reached the people seeking protection on Sunday and was finally able to save them.
By then, according to “Sea-Eye”, people had already been at sea for four nights. Hours later, the rescue ship also reached the site and finally took the rescued on board.
Criticism towards Malta
Without the crews of the two container ships, people would have had no chance of surviving, said Sea Eye chairman Gorden Isler.
They would have died of thirst or drowned. It shouldn’t have come to that.
“Once again, Malta rejected responsibility and coordination, so that the German rescue control center in Bremen was forced to coordinate a maritime emergency in the Mediterranean,” criticized Isler. A spokesman for the CPO Containerschiffreederei GmbH & Co. KG from Hamburg said that according to previous knowledge, the rescued were doing well “except for two people who were obviously seasick”.
44 dead off Western Sahara coast
However, numerous people died off the coast of Western Sahara: The aid organization “Caminando Fronteras” reported 44 dead. The fugitives’ boat capsized. Twelve people survived and were arrested by Moroccan authorities.
The founder of the aid organization announced on Twitter that only seven bodies could be recovered – the rest had “swallowed the sea”.