The association SOS Méditerranée announced, Friday, November 2, the acquisition by Aquarius of a "provisional registration" of Liberia, which however does not allow this ship used to save migrants and blocked in Marseille since the withdrawal of his flag by Panama, to resume the sea.
It is "provisional" and "purely administrative" . The association SOS Méditerranée announced, Friday, November 2, the acquisition by Aquarius of a registration of Liberia, which however does not allow this ship used to rescue migrants and blocked in Marseille since the withdrawal of its flag by Panama, to take back the sea.
The Aquarius has been moored in Marseilles for a month, after being removed successively by Gibraltar and Panama. The measure took effect at the end of October for the latter country. SOS Méditerranée is "always looking for a lasting solution that would allow Aquarius to resume its vital mission in the Mediterranean" , ie a new pavilion, the NGO continued.
Set "insurance questions"
In the meantime, the Aquarius, which has saved 29,500 migrants in just over 200 rescue operations since February 2016 according to the association, remains in Marseille. The registration granted by Liberia allows to settle "insurance issues" , told AFP a spokesman for the association.
The association, whose ship has been at the center of several wrestling with European states in recent months after rescuing migrants at sea, believes that withdrawals flag have a political motive, "unpublished in maritime history" she added. Panama said in October that it made its decision "in accordance with (its) maritime law" without "nothing to do" with the migrants' file.