SEA-WATCH 5

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'Sea Watch 5' docked in the port of Vinaròs after rescuing 834 people in recent months

On Sep 28 the 'Sea Watch 5' has docked in the port of Vinaròs after ten months in which it has rescued and brought 834 people to safe ports. The ship had set sail from Vinaròs on Nov 14, 2023 to undertake its first rescue operations. In this period, in addition to saving hundreds of lives, it has also been affected by strategies to hinder humanitarian action carried out by the Italian state. On March 9, an arbitrary administrative blockade was imposed against the 'Sea-Watch 5' and other ships, such as the 'Sea-Eye 4' and 'Humanity I'. After 20 days, the Courts of the Italian city of Ragusa declared the different blockades as illegal. Meanwhile, the German NGO reported that during its forced stop at least 145 people had drowned without any kind of help. The last rescueoperation was on Aug 31 in an operation in which 289 people were taken to a safe port. On Sep 4, just the day after the survivors disembarked, the Italian authorities imposed a new sailing ban on the 'Sea-Watch' 5 for another 20 days. After this the ship that set sail from Civitavecchia back to the port of Vinaròs where it plans to carry out repairs, maintenance and supplies. For several weeks, teams from the local entity have been working to prepare their arrival and provide them with all the necessary tools to carry out the actions they require, and activated a mobile operating base equipped to provide its support service in the best conditions. Report with photo: https://castellonplaza.com/barcohumanitarioseawatch5vuelvevinarostrassocorrer834personas

NGO ship detained for 20 days

The Italian authorities have detained the 'Sea-Watch 5' for 20 days on Sep 3, and fined up to €10,000, after having rescued 289 people on Aug 31 in four operations in international waters off Libya, after dropping them off in the port of Civitavecchia, almost 1,000 kilometres away from where the assistance request was made. Italy accused Sea-Watch of having rescued the asylum seekers at sea, without clearance from the Libyan authorities. After the Italian authorities assigned Civitavecchia as a safe port, a 17-year-old had to be medically evacuated by Maltese forces as his medical condition did not permit the long journey. The basis for the detention is the so-called Piantedosi Decree, introduced in January 2023, which deliberately attacks the work of civil rescue organisations in the Mediterranean. “The accusations made by the authorities are false: following the 1982 UNCLOS regulation, permission for the rescue is not required under international law. In addition, the state authorities in Italy, Malta and Germany were informed about the sea emergencies and rescues,” Sea-Watch 5 head of operations Chiara Milanese said. It had informed the coordination centre in Libya of the rescue, even though it does not meet necessary international standards.

NGO to file a complaint against Italian authorities for blocking rescue ships

Sea Watch has contested the seizure of the “Sea Watch 5”, which has been blocked for 20 days by the Italian authorities in the port of Pozzuolo, after disembarking 51 migrants and the body of a deceased young man. Sea Watch contested this decision and planned to challenge the measure in court, emphasizing the importance of not hindering rescue operations at sea. In addition, the Italian Supreme Court recently established jurisprudence by considering that Libya was not a safe port, thus opening the way to possible appeals by relief NGOs and calling into question the Italian government's migration policy. Also the German NGO Sea Eye has announced its intention to file a complaint against the Italian authorities for the seizure of the "Sea Eye 4" for 60 days in the port of Reggio Calabria. In recent hours, the 144 migrants rescued by the humanitarian ship in the central Mediterranean, including 20 unaccompanied minors, two babies and several families, have disembarked in this port. The first group of 84 migrants were from different countries such as Gambia, Ivory Coast, Somalia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Ghana, while the second group of 60 migrants came from Syria, Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sudan and Burkina Faso. The NGO will initiate proceedings before the competent courts, thus contesting the reason given for the blocking. According to Italian authorities, the ship interrupted a Libyan Coastguard operation, which Sea Eye categorically disputes. A boat of the so-called Coastguard arrived at high speed, while the 'Sea Eye 4' had already started to evacuate the inflatable boat in distress. Additionally,the Libyans acted recklessly by pointing their weapons at the crew of the rescue ship.