Tag: migrants

The European Transport Workers Federation released a statement regarding sea rescue operations. ETF highlights that casualties in the Mediterranean have been extremely high since 2014 and presents its demands to improve this situation. ETF also noted that it resists any attempt to criminalise masters and crew of ships involved in rescue operations.

On Christmas Day, the French Coast Guard once again picked up illegal migrants from the sea trying to reach England by boat. It would involve a total of six rescue operations in collaboration with the British coastguard, in which approximately 40 people were rescued from the sea.

Human rights at sea gains significant attention of the maritime community. Due to its diversified identity, shipping constitutes a friendly field for human rights abuses, with human trafficking, illegal migration, slavery and abuse in fishing sector and even the unsafe working conditions in many Southeast Asian ship recycling facilities being among the key areas of concern.

The US Coast Guard informed that it is searching for seven migrants who are missing after a boat capsized off the Dominican Republic. The boat was carrying a total of 28 people when the incident took place. According to the US Coast Guard, a commercial tanker spotted the capsized boat on December 6 off the Dominican Republic, near the island of Saona.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and its partner SOS MEDITERRANEE informed that were forced to terminate operations by the search and rescue vessel Aquarius. Over the last two months, the vessel has remained in port, unable to carry out its work.

On November 30th, the Swiss Parliament responded to a parliamentary inquiry on the possibility of letting the Aquarius, search-and-rescue ship run by SOS Méditerranée and Médecins sans Frontières. Namely, it denied the vessel to sail under the Swiss flag.

Libyan security authorities forcibly removed 79 refugees and migrants Tuesday from the Panama-flagged cargo ship 'Nivin' in the Libyan port of Misrata, after they refused to leave the ship for 10 days. The incident has risen reactions from humanitarian bodies, as there are reports of injuries and use of rubber bullets and tear gas.

Italy ordered the seizure of the migrant rescue vessel 'Aquarius', after accusing the Doctors without Borders 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. Currently, Italy has closed its ports to humanitarian ships that rescue migrants off Libya.

The RoRo Nivin, with Panamanian flag, rescued, last week, 81 maritime migrants but 79 of them refuse to disembark from the ship off the coast of Misrata in Libya. The migrants refuse to disembark in Misrata as a result of the fear of being sent back to Libyan detention camps.

The UN Security Council decided to renew for one year, its authorization allowing Member States to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya, as long as there are reasonable grounds for suspicion that they are being used for smuggling migrants or human trafficking.