MSF resumes search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean as deaths continue at sea and in Libya

Operated in partnership between MSF and the organization SOS MEDITERRANEE, the search and rescue ship Ocean Viking will sail to the central Mediterranean Sea at the end of July, seeking to save lives along the world's deadliest migration route. At least 426 men, women and children have died so far in 2019 attempting to cross the central Mediterranean, including 82 in a shipwreck just over two weeks ago.

However, European governments have engaged in a sustained campaign to stop virtually all humanitarian action at sea and have normalized policies that cause deaths at sea or keep people in Libya amid an ongoing war.

Deaths have continued at sea while few humanitarian vessels are left in the central Mediterranean and Europe's official search and rescue operation has been recklessly abandoned. Commercial ships are in an untenable position, choosing either to ignore their duty to rescue people in distress or risk being stranded at sea for weeks while Italy refuses to let rescued people disembark and the other members of the European Union cannot agree on how to share responsibility. 

Fighting has raged in and around Libya's capital Tripoli for more than three months, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee and endangering the lives of refugees and migrants trapped in detention centres. Earlier this month, an airstrike hit the Tajoura detention centre in Tripoli, killing an estimated 60 people and injuring an estimated 70 people. 

Humanitarian evacuations out of the country remain piecemeal and inadequate, leaving the deadly sea crossing as one of the few possible escape routes. Meanwhile, European governments are violating their legal obligations and humanitarian principles by supporting the Libyan Coast Guard in forcibly returning vulnerable people to Libya—in some cases to detention centres where people trapped inside are shot or bombed.

As long as EU governments fail to take their responsibility for search and rescue operations, and as long people continue to flee Libya, humanitarian vessels will be needed in the Mediterranean. For MSF, whose work is governed by humanitarian principles, it would be unconscionable not to try to prevent people from dying at sea and to take them to a safe place, where those in need of international protection can seek asylum with the relevant authorities.

Ocean Viking is a Norwegian-owned ship with a Norwegian flag. It is an Emergency Response and Rescue Vessel (ERRV)—a standby offshore supply vessel ready to rescue a large number of oil workers from oil platforms in case of an accident and mass casualties. Built in 1986, it is 69 meters in length and 15.5 meters wide. It is fully equipped to perform search and rescue with four high-speed rescue boats, as well as a medical clinic with consultation, triage, and recovery rooms. The ship can take up to 200 survivors on board. The MSF team on Ocean Viking, consisting of nine people, is in charge of the medical and humanitarian needs of rescued people on board. The SOS MEDITERRANEE team, consisting of 12 people, is in charge of search and rescue activities. Another nine people are part of the ship's marine crew and are employed by the ship owner.