On board the Ocean Viking (AFP)

While they wait at the gates of Europe with the 356 migrants they have collected in the central Mediterranean, the rescuers of the Ocean Viking, the only humanitarian boat still at sea in the region, de facto desert their area of ​​operations off the coast of Libya.

There are ten of them on board the SOS Méditerranée and Médecins Sans Frontières boat with, at least, a sailor or lifeguard experience. "Without neither would it be difficult".

With his air of Breton not convenient, Tanguy, 38 years, is the figurehead of this squad trained to launch the zodiacs to the water and squirt from the deck, harnessed and helmeted, to stand in front of the troubled trouts according to a meticulous protocol.

As soon as he arrived in the search and rescue zone off Libyan waters, on 9 August, the Ocean Viking, successor of the Aquarius who left Marseilles on the 4th for his first mission, rescued four boats in four days: canoes Rubber out of breath, full to the brim, sometimes close to collapse with from 80 to over 100 people on board.

The last one, on August 12th, a shameful assembly of blue rubber pieces, literally burst when rescuers arrived at its height to distribute the lifejackets, precipitating a dozen of the 105 passengers in the water.

The survivors who arrived on the Ocean Viking immediately reported that a similar boat had left Libya at the same time as them, but could not be found. Twelve hours later, the north wind raised a swell of 2.50 meters.

- Breathless -

Since then, Ocean Viking has waited between Malta and Italy. The shipwreck zone is abandoned, at best, to the Libyan coastguards - the terror of migrants - who systematically send survivors to Libya and its detention centers that those who frequent them call "prisons".

"The worst thing is that two of the four boats could only be rescued because they had been spotted by binoculars," says Nicholas Romaniuk, Anglo-Canadian coordinator of relief operations.

A relentless watch, binoculars in hands 24 hours a day, was instituted upon arrival in the rescue zone. By day, by night, eyes narrowed to scan the horizon.

In the absence of effective coordination of maritime rescue by Tripoli to which this role is normally devolved, this permanent watch has proved indispensable and more reliable than any sonar for spotting watercraft. The other two could be located thanks to the overflight of European planes, identified on the radar screen or in flight.

- More drowned, fewer migrants -

For the last ten days, rescuers have not been on the catwalk to watch for the shipwrecked but on the bridge, seconding MSF for tea and food rations, organizing the promiscuity of the bodies for bedtime at night, ensuring peace and quiet. the concord among some 300 young people with little patience.

"We are used to accompany people until the landing, but before, it lasted two, three days" notes Tanguy who adds in a low voice: "The more drowned, the less there are migrants ... I do not believe that the governments reason so, but the result of their policy is there ".

"For me, it's like having a patient in the ambulance and the hospital refusing to take it, so you have to go further and further, Milan, Berlin, Moscow ... And so, you're not doing your homework. ", summarizes Alessandro, usually a Red Cross paramedic, who confesses, more than his frustration, his" sadness ". "It pumps you energy".

According to the estimates of the Libyan coastguard, he recalled, "about half of the boats that start are lost at sea, hundreds of people disappear without leaving a trace".

© 2019 AFP