13.08.2024. On Monday morning, the crew of the non-governmental rescue ship Humanity 1 was asked to select among the 270 survivors on board for a partial disembarkation Lampedusa. They had been rescued from distress at sea in the central Mediterranean on Sunday in four sometimes dramatic rescues. The Italian Coast Guard picked up 70 of them and brought them ashore. SOS Humanity criticises the fact that the remaining 199 survivors must endure the long journey to Genoa in the heat on deck unnecessarily and against the law. 

The care team on board the Humanity 1 had only a few hours to select 68 people from the 270 rescued for selective disembarkation to an Italian Coast Guard vessel, ordered by the Italian authorities.  

“We were forced to make this selection without having the necessary information about the people rescued,” criticises Jörg Schmid, the volunteer doctor on board. “Due to the emergency treatment of a critically ill patient the day before until late into the night, we didn’t even have time for a simple medical screening of the survivors before the selective disembarkation. It was therefore impossible for our care team to make an ethically sound selection.”  

The people rescued from four boats had got into distress at sea while fleeing Libya. Two of the boats had left Libya together. “We don’t know how many relatives and friends may have been separated today because we didn’t know about their family constellations. After we drew up a disembarkation list for the Italian authorities, dozens of people begged me to be able to disembark with their relatives. Our hands were tied by the order and the limit of 68 people. That was extremely frustrating and caused uncertainty and fear among the already burdened survivors”, says doctor Jörg Schmid.  

Following four rescues last Sunday, in which a total of 273 people in distress at sea were taken on board the rescue ship Humanity 1, one person had to be evacuated late in the evening as a medical emergency, together with two relatives. “The responsible authorities delayed the evacuation of the patient for hours, even though the patient urgently needed intensive medical care,” says doctor Jörg Schmid. After the transfer to the Italian Coast Guard was completed on Monday, the crew still had to proceed to the distant port of Genoa assigned on Sunday for the disembarkation of the people remaining on board – over 1,200 kilometres from the site of the rescues, a journey which takes more than four days. 

Italy and Malta shifting responsibilities back and forth 

The person evacuated on Sunday evening fell unconscious after being brought on board the Humanity 1. After the initial stabilisation of the patient by the medical team, an emergency evacuation had to be requested at around 17:30 CEST. On-board doctor Jörg Schmid: “Although the International Medical Radio Centre Rome (C.I.R.M) confirmed the patient’s critical situation with the onset of multiple organ failure and the need for immediate evacuation, it took hours for the relevant rescue coordination centres to send help.”  

Initially, the Italian and Maltese rescue coordination centres tried to pass responsibilities back an forth among them and kept the crew of the Humanity 1 in limbo. It was only after repeated requests from the crew that the evacuation by an Italian Coast Guard vessel was conducted at around 23:00 CEST. 

On Monday morning, the authorities then ordered the selective disembarkation of a small number of survivors to Lampedusa. Requests by the captain to disembark all 270 survivors in Lampedusa or to be assigned a closer port were unsuccessful. At around 11:30 CEST on Monday, 70 people were transferred to the Italian Coast Guard and taken to Lampedusa. 

SOS Humanity calls for compliance with international maritime and human rights 

The political spokesperson of SOS Humanity, Mirka Schäfer, is currently on board Humanity 1 as a human rights observer. “The remaining 200 survivors rescued from distress at sea must continue to wait on board the Humanity 1 because the Italian authorities are denying them a quick arrival on land in violation of international law,” said Schäfer. “It is appalling to see how the plight of people at sea is being artificially prolonged as a result. It is currently extremely hot in the central Mediterranean and the survivors are suffering from the summer heat. Many of those rescued came on board weakened and dehydrated and some show signs of physical violence. The more than four-day journey to the assigned port of Genoa is delaying the urgently needed medical and psychological care for these people on land. SOS Humanity calls for an end to the inhumane and unlawful practice of assigning people to distant ports, which violates the fundamental rights of survivors and keeps civilian rescue ships away from the area of operation.”