Migrant rescue NGO Sea-Eye will be sending a new vessel to join its operations in the Mediterranean this summer, the organisation announced on Saturday.
The new rescue ship, Sea-Eye 4, left its shipyard in Rostock, on Germany's Baltic coast, on Saturday morning. It is scheduled to arrive in Spain at the end of April and from there set out on its first rescue mission as quickly as possible.
The vessel has been undergoing works by around 250 volunteers for six months and received the green light earlier this week by the German flag state administration to begin operations.
“People have been dying in the Mediterranean Sea for many years. At least 406 deaths were recorded in 2021 already. The departure of the SEA-EYE 4 is an important signal from a broad civil society alliance to the EU member states," Gordon Isler, Sea-Eye chairman, said.
"Letting people drown in the Mediterranean in order to reduce the number of asylum applications in Europe and to deter others from fleeing is inhuman. This irresponsible policy lacks support from civil society. United4Rescue with its 744 alliance partners, the Protestant and Catholic Church and thousands of donors have made this clear again today."
United4Rescue, an alliance for civil sea rescue, has covered large parts of the purchase, upgrade and mission costs for the new vessel. Its transfer to the Mediterranean is financed by donations from the Catholic arch-dioceses of Munich and Freising, Paderborn and Trier.
“The SEA-EYE 4 is not just another rescue ship that saves people from drowning in the Mediterranean. It is also a symbol that we as United4Rescue, together with our many allies and supporters, will not let up in our commitment to humanity. We do not want to stand idly by and watch people dying in the Mediterranean Sea – that is why we are more than happy to be able to help send another ship – the SEA-EYE 4 – on rescue missions,” says Thies Gundlach, Chairman of United4Rescue.
Sea-Eye said the new ship, a former offshore supply vessel, was well suited for sea rescue missions, with abundant space for the first aid of rescued people, and a modern sickbay equipped to cater for coronavirus patients.
To carry out rescue missions, the Sea-Eye 4 has two cranes that can lower its two rescue boats safely and quickly into the water. In the event of a search and rescue case, these tenders will approach the people in need of rescue, distribute life jackets and evacuate the unseaworthy boats in distress.
The SEA-EYE 4 (built in 1972) is 53 m long, 11.5 m wide, has a top speed of 10.5 knots and will carry out its missions with up to 26 crew members.