OCEAN VIKING

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Latest news

25 migrants rescued in Mediterranean Sea

On the morniing of March 9, the 'Ocean Viking' of the NGO SOS Méditerranée has rescued 25 migrants off the coast of Libya, who had issued a distress call. Among them were three women, two toddlers and five unaccompanied minors. They were cared for by SOS Méditerranée and the IFRC on board the ship, which was advised to proceed to the port of Marina di Carrara by the Italian authorities as safe port, more than 1.200 kilometres away, forcing the 'Ocean Viking' to a long and lengthy detour.

112 migrants rescued off Lybia

The 'Ocean Viking' has rescued 112 migrants off the coast of Libya in two rescues between Feb 22 and Feb 23. The ship first assisted a fiberglass boat during the night, rescuing 25 migrants including three women, one of whom was pregnant. On the next morning, 87 other migrants who were on a wooden boat were taken care of in coordination with the Italian authorities. The people rescued mainly were coming from Bangladesh, Somalia or Egypt. The 'Ocean Viking' was now heading to Livorno, which was assigned by the Italian authorities, more than 1,000 kilometres from the rescue zone.

85 migrants rescued in Libyan SAR zone

On the night of Jan 20, the 'Ocean Viking' rescued 85 people, including three newborns and three pregnant women, who were on board a dinghy that ran into trouble in the Libyan SAR zone. One of the migrants was also a young teen. Their boat was extremely overcrowded and was reaching a breaking point after taking on water. Authorities assigned Genova as a port to disembark the migrants, forcing the 'Ocean Viking' to undertake a four-day-long journey far from the area. The government of Premier Giorgia Meloni has promoted a practice of sending NGO rescue ships operating in the Central Mediterranean to ports far from the SAR area, ostensibly in order to take pressure off Sicilian ports and reception facilities.