#geo barents rescue ship

[girlonthelasttrain]

There are several NGO-funded ships currently operating in the central Mediterranean Sea with the specific intent of saving migrants from what has been for years one of the deadliest migration routes in the world. Here is partial list:

Geo Barents (Médecins Sans Frontières)

Ocean Viking (SOS Méditerranée)

Aurora, Sea Watch 3 and Sea Watch 5 (Sea Watch)

Life Support (Emergency)

Open Arms and other ships (Open Arms)

Another important resource for migrants in distress at sea is the hotline AlarmPhone.

Since 2016 these rescue missions have become more and more onerous to fund as EU countries have progressively strengthened the Frontex program while at the same time criminalizing NGO-led search and rescue operations. (Italy has been at the forefront of this trend, and a shipwreck on the coast of Calabria in late February this year only managed to strengthen the resolve of the current government to make it even more complex for NGOs to try and rescue migrants.) So while it definitely won't solve the root issue, donating to these NGOs still has a tangible effect.

[stackslip]

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced today that it has ceased operations of its rescue vessel, Geo Barents, which had been operational since June 2021. MSF is suspending all search and rescue efforts until further notice, with the intention of restarting again next year with a new ship. Italian laws and policies have made it impossible to continue with the current operational model. MSF will begin the process of evaluating different operational models to respond to the needs of migrants in this challenging environment. MSF reaffirms its solid commitment to people on the move, especially those taking the dangerous journey across the Central Mediterranean Sea, a route where over 31,000 people have died or gone missing since 2014. “MSF will be back as soon as possible to conduct search and rescue operations on one of the deadliest migration routes in the world,” said Juan Matias Gil, MSF search and rescue representative. “We will come back to bear witness and speak out against the violations committed against people on the move by EU members states, particularly by Italy, and the other actors in the area.”  (...) In the past two years, Geo Barents faced four sanctions by the Italian authorities, imposing a total of 160 days of detention in port. These punitive measures came under the Piantedosi Decree, a law that was introduced by the Italian government in the beginning of 2023 that limits the operations of non-governmental (NGO) rescue ships in the Mediterranean Sea and undermines the maritime historical humanitarian and legal duty to save lives at sea. This month, Italy further intensified the sanctions by making it easier and faster to confiscate humanitarian search and rescue vessels.

[noisynutcrusade]

Italy detains migrant rescue ship, fines charity | Migration News

Italy’s far-right government is taking legal action against a vessel operated by MSF in the Mediterranean Sea. Italian authorities have detained and fined a rescue ship operated by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), shortly after parliament passed into law a government decree establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships. The rescue ship Geo Barents was placed…

[alaturkanews]

Over 600 migrants dock in the southern Italian port of Bari

A humanitarian vessel carrying over 600 migrants reached the southern Italian port of Bari on Tuesday. Among the migrants were 151 minors, 20 of whom were children under the age of 13 as well as 11 women. Some of the rescuees needed urgent medical attention after being at sea for days. The migrants were rescued on Saturday in the Sicilian Channel by the Geo Barents, a humanitarian ship operated…

[gadgetsforusesblog]

Law watchdog denounces Italian immigration law as 'inhumane' By Reuters

©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A person disembarks the Geo Barents rescue ship, operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), in Bari, Italy on March 26, 2023. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo ROME (Reuters) – A new Italian law curtailing asylum rights in an attempt to deter migrants from going to Italy is repressive and inhumane, a leading human rights watchdog said on…

[worldspotlightnews]

Italy adopts state of emergency over migrants

Migrants react as they wait to disembark the Geo Barents rescue ship, operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), in Bari, Italy March 26, 2023. —Reuters ROME: Italy’s cabinet on Tuesday announced a state of emergency on immigration following a “sharp rise” in flows across the Mediterranean, a statement said, in a move aimed at better management of migrant arrivals and…

[cryptoguys657]

Italy detains migrant rescue ship, fines charity | Migration News

Italy’s far-right government is taking legal action against a vessel operated by MSF in the Mediterranean Sea. Italian authorities have detained and fined a rescue ship operated by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), shortly after parliament passed into law a government decree establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships. The rescue ship Geo Barents was placed…

[cryptosecrets]

Italy detains migrant rescue ship, fines charity | Migration News

Italy’s far-right government is taking legal action against a vessel operated by MSF in the Mediterranean Sea. Italian authorities have detained and fined a rescue ship operated by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), shortly after parliament passed into law a government decree establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships. The rescue ship Geo Barents was placed…

[gamegill]

Italy detains migrant rescue ship, fines charity | Migration News

Italy’s far-right government is taking legal action against a vessel operated by MSF in the Mediterranean Sea. Italian authorities have detained and fined a rescue ship operated by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), shortly after parliament passed into law a government decree establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships. The rescue ship Geo Barents was placed…

[parolim-prlm]

Italy detains migrant rescue ship, fines charity | Migration News

Italy’s far-right government is taking legal action against a vessel operated by MSF in the Mediterranean Sea. Italian authorities have detained and fined a rescue ship operated by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), shortly after parliament passed into law a government decree establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships. The rescue ship Geo Barents was placed…

[gamekai]

Italy detains migrant rescue ship, fines charity | Migration News

Italy’s far-right government is taking legal action against a vessel operated by MSF in the Mediterranean Sea. Italian authorities have detained and fined a rescue ship operated by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), shortly after parliament passed into law a government decree establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships. The rescue ship Geo Barents was placed…

[hostor-infotech]

Italy detains migrant rescue ship, fines charity | Migration News

Italy’s far-right government is taking legal action against a vessel operated by MSF in the Mediterranean Sea. Italian authorities have detained and fined a rescue ship operated by Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF), shortly after parliament passed into law a government decree establishing a code of conduct for migrant charity ships. The rescue ship Geo Barents was placed…

[noisynutcrusade]

Italy to allow 113 refugees on 'Ocean Viking' ship to dock

Migrants who have not been able to disembark wave signs with the words “HELP US” from the Nave Geo Barents, the search and rescue ship of Doctors Without Borders, in Catania, Italy on November 7, 2022. Photo: VCG Italy will allow the Ocean Viking humanitarian ship to dock at an Italian port and disembark 113 people rescued from the waters of the Mediterranean, a French NGO said Tuesday. The…

[humanrightsupdates]

The Italian government’s refusal to allow about 250 people to disembark from two nongovernmental rescue ships docked in Catania and its directive to the rescue ships to take them back to international waters puts people at risk and violates Italy’s human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said today.

Over the weekend of November 5 and 6, 2022, the Italian government allowed the two rescue vessels – Humanity 1, operated by SOS Humanity, and the Geo Barents, operated by Médécins Sans Frontières (MSF) – to dock at Catania port temporarily. Following government-ordered summary “vulnerability” assessments by two doctors selected by the authorities, 144 people from the Humanity 1 and 357 people from the Geo Barents were allowed to disembark, mainly women, children, and men with physical health problems. One of the men forced to remain on the Humanity 1 subsequently collapsed and was evacuated by ambulance, leaving 34 on board. The authorities are refusing to allow 215 people to disembark from the Geo Barents. One of them had to be medically evacuated overnight, leaving 214 on board