Sea-Watch

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Sea-Watch
Sea-Watch 2.jpg
Established19 May 2015  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg (9 years ago)
FoundersHarald Höppner  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Legal status registered association   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Headquarters Berlin   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Membership57 (2022)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Revenue1,608,109 euro (2017)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Sea-Watch is a German non-governmental organisation that operates in the Mediterranean Sea, notably by commissioning ships to rescue migrants.

Contents

History

On 6 November 2017, the crew of a Sea-Watch ship rescued 58 people in an operation hindered by the Libyan Navy. Twenty other people drowned. [1] [2] [3] Video footage that implicated the Libyan Coast Guard was later used in legal action against Italy in the European Court of Human Rights. [4]

2018

The ship Sea-Watch resumed her operations in November 2018 [5] [6] [7] after it was detained in Malta between July and October. [8]

On 22 December 2018, another of the organisation's ships, Sea-Watch 3, rescued around 32 people, [9] but was unable to dock in Malta, Italy, or Spain. [10] [11]

2019

Stickers of Sea-Watch and its Defend solidarity campaign Stickers Sea-Watch.jpg
Stickers of Sea-Watch and its Defend solidarity campaign

On 3 January 2019, France, Germany and the Netherlands offered to take some of the 49 migrants blocked off Malta on Sea-Watch and Sea-Eye "as a collective allocation effort". [11] [8] According to Mina Andreeva, the spokeswoman of the European Commission, more solidarity is needed along with "foreseeable and sustainable solutions for the landing and re-localization in the Mediterranean"; she quoted the commissioner in charge of migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos. [12]

Two weeks after the rescue, the 49 migrants were still blocked off Malta on Sea-Watch 3 and the Sea-Eye  [ de ], [13] in spite of an appeal by Pope Francis. [14] On 9 January, they were finally allowed to disembark in Malta [15] after an agreement to relocate them to eight other European countries was reached. [16] [17] On 19 January, Sea-Watch 3 rescued 47 further migrants. The Italian government forbade her from entering the port, and initiated legal action against the Netherlands; [18] the organisation referred the case to the European Court of Human Rights. [19] On 29 January, Italy, Germany, France, Malta, Portugal, Romania, and Luxembourg agreed to relocate the 47 migrants. [20] Deputy Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Salvini demanded that Sea-Watch 3 be detained. [20] As the ship was docked at the Italian city Catania to land the migrants, she was blocked by the Italian military on the grounds of "several non-conformities"; the organisation called the obstruction political pressure. [21]

On 19 May 2019, the Italian police seized Sea-Watch 3 at the island Lampedusa, allowing the disembarking of the 47 migrants whom she had recently picked up on 15 May 2019. [22] [23] Reports of the operations angered Matteo Salvini, who opposed the landing of the migrants. [23] [24] In June 2019, the ship was again detained; 53 migrants had been rescued from the coast of Libya on 12 June. [25] Italy allowed only 11 especially vulnerable people to disembark; on 25 June 2019, the captain of Sea-Watch 3 threatened to land at Lampedusa in spite of the interdiction, [26] eventually entering Italian territorial waters. According to the organisation, it was "not as a provocative act, but out of necessity and responsibility". [27] [28] [29] A column in French newspaper Le Monde stated that Captain Carola Rackete was only "reminding us all of the existence of international conventions such as that stating rescue at sea is a duty for all". [30] In an editorial in the same newspaper, 700 celebrities supported the migrants and opposed Salvini. [31] A poll by Italian daily Il Giornale showed that 61% of Italians were opposed to Sea-Watch 3 landing at Lampedusa. [32] During the night of 28 to 29 June, the ship was seized, and Carola Rackete was arrested for helping illegal immigration. [33] Sea-Watch 3 later collided with the 50-knot Class 800 patrol boat [34] "808" of Italian law enforcement agency Guardia di Finanza, which had tried to block the larger vessel from docking. The boat[ clarification needed ] was pushed against the dock and slightly damaged. [35] Since the Guardia di Finanza was legally considered a combatant while it protected waterways, the Italian media reported that Rackete could also be charged with attack on a warship, a crime punishable with 3 to 10 years in prison. [36] Two days later, an Italian judge decided that no further incarceration was necessary, and Rackete was released. As of July 2019, the criminal investigation continues. [37]

Cooperation with Protestant Church

The sea rescue ship Sea-Watch 4 (with the suffix "powered by United4Rescue"), financed by the Protestant Church in germany (EKD), has been deployed under the direction of Sea-Watch since 2020. For this purpose, the sponsoring association, Rescue Together (Gemeinsam Retten), was set up, with Thies Gundlach from the EKD as the first chairman and Michael Schwickart from Sea-Watch as the second chairman.

Ships

Sea-Watch is a former 21.12-meter (69 ft 3 in) fishing ship. Built in 1917 [38] and purchased in 2015, Sea-Watch used her in 2015 until she was transferred later that year to the organisation Mare Liberum, receiving the name Mare Liberum .

Sea-Watch 2 is a former fishing research ship, originally entering service as Clupea in 1968. She was deployed on 14-day rescue operations between Libya and Malta in 2016 and 2017 along with Sea-Watch. Sold to the organisation Mission Lifeline, she now operates under the name Lifeline . [39]

Sea-Watch 3 is a 50.53-meter (165 ft 9 in) ship. Built in 1972 as an offshore supply ship, the organisation Médecins Sans Frontières commissioned it as a search and rescue vessel under the name Dignity I before transfer to Sea-Watch. [40]

Sea-Watch 4 is a 60.70-meter (199 ft 2 in) ship. Built in 1976 as a research ship, the Evangelical Church in Germany formed an association to buy the ship in early 2020. The ship is run by a cooperation between Sea-Watch and Médecins Sans Frontières and operated as a German-flagged rescue vessel in the Mediterranean Sea since August 2020. [41]

Reconnaissance aircraft

Since 2017, Sea-Watch have operated a SAR-coordinating reconnaissance aircraft, Moonbird , a single-engined Cirrus SR22, and since June 2020, also the Seabird , a twin-engined high-performance Beechcraft Baron 58. [42] These are flown in cooperation with the Swiss NGO Humanitarian Pilots Initiative. [43]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Lifeline</i> (ship)

Lifeline is a small rescue boat, formerly an inshore fisheries research vessel of the Fisheries Research Services currently seized by Maltese authorities due to disputed ownership, ship classification, home port documentation and flag registration. The captain, Claus-Peter Reisch appeared in a Maltese court charged with commanding an improperly registered ship and was released on a 10,000-euro bail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matteo Salvini</span> Italian politician

Matteo Salvini is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been Federal Secretary of Italy's Lega Nord party since December 2013 and an Italian senator since March 2018. Salvini represented Northwestern Italy in the European Parliament from 2004 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration to Italy</span>

In 2021, Istat estimated that 5,171,894 foreign citizens lived in Italy, representing about 8.7% of the total population. These figures do not include naturalized foreign-born residents as well as illegal immigrants, the so-called clandestini, whose numbers, difficult to determine, are thought to be at least 670,000.

Protector-class coastal patrol boat

The Protector-class coastal patrol boats are a class of coastal patrol boats of the Maritime Squadron of the Armed Forces of Malta. They are 87-foot (27 m) patrol boats based on the Stan 2600 patrol vessel design from the Netherlands shipbuilding firm Damen Group. The Hong Kong Police were the first organization to order vessels based on this design. The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has 73 patrol boats from this class, where they are known as the Marine Protector class. Malta ordered two vessels, and they were built by Bollinger Shipyards to the USCG specifications under the US$13 Million grant from the United States provided by the United States Securities Act of 2000. They were given pennant numbers P51 and P52. In 2013, both patrol boats were upgraded with new equipment including infrared cameras and a rigid hull inflatable boat. The upgrade cost €1.7 million and was co-funded by the European Union’s External Fund.

Spanish patrol vessel <i>Audaz</i> (P-45)

Audaz (P-45) is an offshore patrol vessel and the fifth of the Meteoro class created for the Spanish Navy. It is the fourth Navy ship to carry this name. The patrol vessel was built in the Navantia's shipyard in San Fernando.

Events in the year 2018 in Spain.

<i>Aquarius Dignitus</i>

The MV Aquarius, formerly Aquarius Dignitus and Aquarius 2, is a 1977-built dual-flagged search and rescue vessel, which has been used to rescue refugees and migrants stranded in the Mediterranean Sea since 2016. It has been chartered and operated since February 2016 by the NGOs SOS Méditerranée and Médecins Sans Frontières as a rescue vessel for migrants and refugees making the Mediterranean crossing in makeshift craft from Libya to Italy as part of the European migrant crisis.

SOS Méditerranée is a European, maritime-humanitarian organisation for the rescue of life at sea, currently operating in the Mediterranean sea in international waters north of Libya. The organization chartered the Aquarius and more recently the Ocean Viking in order to rescue people fleeing by sea from Libya and who risk drowning. The group was founded in June 2015 by German former captain Klaus Vogel and Frenchwoman Sophie Beau after the Italian navy ended the rescue Operation Mare Nostrum in 2014. Its headquarters are in Marseille (France), Milan (Italy), Frankfurt (Germany), Geneva (Switzerland).

Jugend Rettet is a non-governmental organization (NGO) from Berlin. Its goal is to save drowning persons at the Mediterranean Sea. Operations are conducted with the Iuventa, a ship that sails under Dutch flag. This ship was seized in August 2017 after suspicion of cooperation with migrant smugglers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pia Klemp</span> German biologist, ship captain and human rights activist

Pia Klemp is a German biologist and human rights activist, who, between 2011 and 2017, worked for the Sea Shepherd organization to participate in many international operations to protect sea animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carola Rackete</span> German ship captain and human-rights activist

Carola Rackete is a German ship captain and conservation scientist, who volunteered with the German sea rescue organisation Sea-Watch. In June 2019, she was arrested for docking a migrant rescue ship without authorization in the port of Lampedusa, Italy.

<i>Sea-Watch 3</i>

Sea-Watch 3 is a ship of the Sea-Watch organization based in Berlin. The ship is around 50 m long, and is registered as a Cargo Ship in Germany. Sea-Watch 3 is used for sea rescue in the Mediterranean.

Tick, often also as the plural ticks, is a common term used in Germany's right-wing extremist environment to degrade and insult those who think differently, especially leftists and Punks.

<i>Louise Michel</i> (ship)

Louise Michel is the name of the former French patrol boat Suroît, originally built for the Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes. It was refitted in 2020 to patrol rescue zones in the Mediterranean Sea.

Mediterranea Saving Humans APS is a "civil society platform" making connections between existing networks and individuals and a "non governmental project". Though it is similar to the many NGOs operating in the Mediterranean it is not actually an NGO, it brings together heterogeneous organizations and individuals, secular and religious, social and cultural, unions and political, who have decided to take a stand against the deaths and the human rights violations committed daily in the Mediterranean Sea. It was founded in 2018 to keep watch of the situation in the Mediterranean sea and to save lives in difficulty after the majority of other NGOs were not able to act due the legal obstacles created by the Italian authorities. The group coordinates the search and rescue operations of the ships Mare Jonio and Alex which sail under the Italian flag. The project also has the support of the German association Sea-Watch and the Spanish Proactiva Open Arms. It has carried out several search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean Sea with the ship Mare Jonio. Recognition of the work of Mediterranea has come from Pope Francis.

Sea-Eye is a German non-governmental organization headquartered in Regensburg. It participates in the rescue of migrants in distress in the Mediterranean, in particular by having chartered the ships Sea-Eye and Seefuchs/ Sea Fox until August 2017, then the Alan Kurdi and since August 2020 the Sea-Eye 4. In June 2021, Sea-Eye received honorary citizenship from the mayor of Palermo.

Alan Kurdi, named after the drowned Syrian child of Kurdish origin, Alan Kurdi, is a ship which has been used since 2018 by the humanitarian organization Sea-Eye - under the German flag - and latterly the Italian humanitarian NGO, 'ResQ - People Saving People' for the rescue of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. Before this, she was an oceanographic vessel operated by the Land of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, named Professor Albrecht Penck.

<i>Ocean Viking</i>

The Ocean Viking is a humanitarian ship chartered from July 2019 by the SOS Méditerranée association.

The criminalization of sea rescue in the Mediterranean refers to the increase in policing of individuals and search and rescue (SAR) NGOs aiding migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. It further encompasses the increase in de-legitimisation attempts of SAR NGOs by governments, high-profile politicians and officials.

References 

  1. ↑ "Des chercheurs retracent le "sauvetage" désastreux de 150 migrants en Méditerranée". Le Monde.fr. 2019-01-03. ISSN   1950-6244. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  2. ↑ Heller, Charles; Pezzani, Lorenzo; Mann, Itamar; Moreno-Lax, Violeta (2018-12-26). "'It's an Act of Murder': How Europe Outsources Suffering as Migrants Drown (Opinion)". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  3. ↑ "Enquête. Comment l'Europe et la Libye laissent mourir les migrants en mer". Courrier international (in French). 2019-01-02. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  4. ↑ "Une vidéo du "New York Times" montre comment l'Europe laisse les migrants mourir en mer". Libération. 2019-01-04. Archived from the original on 2019-06-30. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  5. ↑ "Trois ONG lancent une opération de sauvetage au large de la Libye". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2018-11-23. Archived from the original on 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
  6. ↑ ""Aquarius" : "La non-assistance à personnes en danger est revenue en force en Méditerranée"". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2018-12-07. Archived from the original on 2018-12-23. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
  7. ↑ "Migrants : "Il existe une politique de criminalisation des sauvetages en mer"". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2018-11-24. Archived from the original on 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
  8. 1 2 "Les ONG de sauvetage de migrants sont de retour en Méditerranée". Le Monde. 2019-01-04. Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  9. ↑ "Christmas at sea: 344 people rescued within 24 hours – no safe port for the rescued people on Sea-Watch 3 • Sea-Watch e.V." Sea-Watch e.V. 2018-12-23. Archived from the original on 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  10. ↑ "Migrants en Méditerranée : l'appel de la ligue des droits de l'homme Corse". France Bleu (in French). 2019-01-02. Archived from the original on 2019-01-02. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  11. 1 2 "La France prête à accueillir des migrants bloqués au large de Malte". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2019-01-03. Archived from the original on 2019-01-03. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
  12. ↑ "49 migrants dans l'attente de la bonne volonté européenne". Bruxelles2.eu. 2019-01-05. Archived from the original on 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  13. ↑ "Migrants : les navires Sea-Watch et Sea-Eye toujours bloqués en mer". TV5MONDE (in French). 2019-01-06. Archived from the original on 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2019-01-07.
  14. ↑ "Migrants bloqués au large de Malte : le pape lance un appel à la solidarité européenne". Le Monde. 2019-01-07. Archived from the original on 2019-05-31. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  15. ↑ "EU hostages finally set free after 19 days aboard Sea-Watch 3 • Sea-Watch e.V." Sea-Watch e.V. 2019-01-09. Archived from the original on 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  16. ↑ "Les cris de joie des réfugiés du Sea-Watch en apprenant qu'ils ont enfin le droit d'accoster à Malte". Le Huffington Post (in French). 2019-01-10. Archived from the original on 2019-01-10. Retrieved 2019-01-11.
  17. ↑ "Scènes de joie à bord du Sea Watch avant le débarquement à Malte". www.voaafrique.com (in French). 2019-01-09. Archived from the original on 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2021-02-08.
  18. ↑ "Italy vows to sue NGO over migrant rescue boat". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2019-01-28.
  19. ↑ "Migrants : l'ONG Sea-Watch saisit la CEDH contre l'Italie". Le Monde (in French). 2019-01-29. Archived from the original on 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2019-01-29.
  20. 1 2 "L'Italie parvient à un accord sur les 47 migrants du "Sea-Watch"". Le Monde (in French). 2019-01-31. Archived from the original on 2019-01-31. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  21. ↑ "Le navire "Sea-Watch" bloqué en Sicile par les gardes-côtes italiens". Le Monde (in French). 2019-02-01. Archived from the original on 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  22. ↑ "Après la saisie d'un bateau de Sea Watch, des migrants débarquent à Lampedusa, malgré l'interdiction de Matteo Salvini". Franceinfo (in French). 2019-05-20. Archived from the original on 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  23. 1 2 "Matteo Salvini couronné "prince" des extrêmes-droites européennes voit son autorité bafouée en Italie" (audio). France Culture (in French). 2019-05-20. Archived from the original on 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  24. ↑ "Le ministre de l'intérieur italien Salvini furieux de voir des migrants arriver à Lampedusa". Le Monde (in French). 2019-05-20. Archived from the original on 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  25. ↑ "Réunis à Malte, les pays d'Europe du Sud, dont la France, restent en désaccord sur l'accueil des migrants". Le Monde (in French). 2019-06-15. Archived from the original on 2019-06-15. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  26. ↑ "La tension monte autour du "Sea-Watch", bloqué en mer avec 42 migrants". Le Monde (in French). 2019-06-25. Archived from the original on 2019-06-25. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  27. ↑ "Treize jours après avoir secouru plus de 50 migrants, le "Sea-Watch 3" force le blocus des eaux italiennes". Le Monde (in French). 2019-06-26. Archived from the original on 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  28. ↑ "Sea-Watch 3, l'honneur de désobéir". France Culture (in French). 2019-06-27. Archived from the original on 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  29. ↑ Sall, Rouguyata (2019-06-28). "Le "Sea-Watch 3" toujours bloqué au large de Lampedusa après avoir forcé le blocus italien". Mediapart (in French). Archived from the original on 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  30. ↑ "Migrants : les leçons à l'Europe de la capitaine du "Sea-Watch 3"". Le Monde (in French). 2019-06-27. Archived from the original on 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  31. ↑ ""Sea-Watch 3": "C'est maintenant qu'il faut inverser la destruction du droit et de l'humanité"". Le Monde (in French). 2019-06-27. Archived from the original on 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  32. ↑ (in Italian) Sea Watch a Lampedusa: ma il 61% degli italiani non vuole che attracchi Archived 2019-06-30 at the Wayback Machine , ilgiornale.it, 2019-06-27
  33. ↑ "Migrants en Méditerranée: le "Sea-Watch 3" accoste à Lampedusa malgré le refus du gouvernement, sa capitaine arrêtée". Le Monde (in French). 2019-06-29. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  34. ↑ "Vedetta costiera V.800" (PDF). GDF.gov.it (in Italian). 2019-06-29. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-06-30. Retrieved 2019-06-30.
  35. ↑ "Sea Watch, la manovra raccontata dai finanzieri: "Poteva schiacciarci. Voleva attraccare a tutti i costi, non speronare"". Ilfattoquotidiano.it (in Italian). 2019-06-29. Archived from the original on 2019-06-29. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  36. ↑ Rüb, Matthias (2019-06-29). "Riskantes Anlegemanöver lässt Stimmung kippen". Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 2019-07-07. Retrieved 2019-06-29.
  37. ↑ "Matteo Salvini: Sea-Watch-Kapitänin Carola Rackete soll nach Hause". .nau.ch (in German). 2019-07-03. Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  38. ↑ "Sea-Watch 1 • Sea-Watch e.V." Sea-Watch e.V. (in German). Archived from the original on 2019-08-01. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  39. ↑ "Sea-Watch 2 • Sea-Watch e.V." Sea-Watch e.V. (in German). Archived from the original on 2019-07-07. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  40. ↑ "Schiffsdetails Für: SEA WATCH 3 (Salvage/Rescue Vessel) – IMO 7302225, MMSI 244140096, Call Sign PE7098 Registriert In Netherlands | AIS Marine Traffic". MarineTraffic.com (in German). Archived from the original on 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
  41. ↑ "MSF and Sea-Watch announce collaboration to save lives at sea". msf.org. Archived from the original on 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
  42. ↑ Moonbird & Seabird Civilian aerial reconnaissance mission at the world’s deadliest border sea-watch.org, accessed 17 June 2021
  43. ↑ December 2020 update - NGO ships involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean and legal proceedings against them 18 December 2020, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, fra.europa.eu, accessed 18 May 2021
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