On November 30th, the Swiss Parliament responded to a parliamentary inquiry on the possibility of letting the Aquarius, search-and-rescue (SAR) ship run by SOS Méditerranée and Médecins sans Frontières. Namely, it denied the vessel to sail under the Swiss flag.
The issue caused a national debate in the country, which is known for its semi-direct democracy. Namely, the Swiss Federal Council stated that the rescue operations require a sustainable and coordinated effort by European countries to manage the admission of refugees.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
Two months before this development, a group of Swiss parliamentarians called for the possibility of allowing the SAR vessel to carry the Swiss flag after a series of events that have led the vessel flagless. Specifically, the ship was flying the Panama-flag, but the Panama Maritime Authority has revoked the registration.
Since then, the Aquarius has been idled in Marseille and hindered from carrying out rescue operations in the central Mediterranean Sea.
What is more, during November, Italy ordered the seizure of the migrant rescue vessel ‘Aquarius’. The country accused the Doctors without Borders (MSF) of illegally dumping toxic waste in south Italy. Responding on the accusations, MSF said that this is an attempt by Italy to undermine migrant rescue efforts.
