The Ocean Viking, humanitarian ship of SOS Mediterranean, set out to sea Monday after three months of stoppage due to the health crisis, to resume its rescues between Europe and Libya, which the migrants continue to flee at the risk of their life.
The coronavirus did not stop the exodus
The ambulance boat, successor to the emblematic Aquarius, left around 8:30 a.m. its home port in Marseille to head towards the Central Mediterranean, the deadliest maritime migratory route in the world, where it expects to find many shipwrecked which even the coronavirus has not stopped the exodus.
LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the situation Monday, June 22
The latest data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) confirms this observation: between the beginning of January and the end of May, attempted crossings from Libya increased by 150%, compared to the same period the year last, that is 8,311 people who sailed on makeshift boats against 3,712.
"For years, it has been said that they are leaving because there are NGOs" at sea, plague Nicholas Romaniuk, recalling that no more humanitarian boats were sailing in the area for several weeks during the pandemic. "We weren't there, and we can now categorically say that people are still crossing!"
Prevent the virus from spreading on the boat
The return of the Ocean Viking comes with an additional challenge: to prevent the virus from spreading on the boat. For this, SOS Mediterranean has implemented a strict protocol, from quasi-surgical equipment for seafarers to a decontamination airlock on board, passing through isolation places in containers if necessary.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Coronavirus in China: should we worry about the new situation?
> Schools, taxes, fight against racism… What you should remember from Emmanuel Macron's speech
> Coronavirus: 5 mistakes not to make with your mask
> Coronavirus: three initiatives that will disrupt our beach habits
> Between empty TGV and TER at a discount, SNCF is preparing for a bad summer
> Can we catch the coronavirus on a plane?
The Sea-Watch 3, from the German NGO Sea-Watch, and the Mare Jonio, from the Italian Mediterranea Saving Humans, are the first two boats to be returned to the area, respectively on June 8 and 10. Thirteen days later, Sea-Watch announced Sunday the transhipment of 211 shipwrecked people on a ferry in a Sicilian port, where they will observe forty.
"Landings on a case by case basis"
The same day, Mare Jonio announced that it had landed, also in Sicily, 67 people rescued the day before. "It happened extremely quickly. These two events are extremely encouraging indicators. The disembarkation at Pozzallo (of Mare Jonio) is perhaps the fastest ever seen. So this is good news, we see the resumption of European solidarity, "says Frédéric Penard, another manager of SOS Mediterranean.
He immediately tempered: "So we come back to the situation prior to the Covid, where landings are decided on a case-by-case basis. This is not enough, because there is no automatic mechanism".
Since the signing of the Valletta pre-agreement, which had made it possible to draft last September the terms of such a mechanism, which would make the reception of migrants automatic by several European countries, Italy and Malta, on the front line , have their eyes riveted on the migration pact to be unveiled in the coming days in Brussels.