Stop the ship Luise Michelof the same name ongfinanced by the internationally renowned artist Banksy. The detention was carried out by the maritime authority of Lampedusa. The ship is accused of having violated the new NGO decree of the Meloni government. The authorities “prevent us from leaving the port and providing rescue at sea” the activists complain. This afternoon the Coast Guard released the reasons for the detention. Only yesterday the ship had rescued a total of five boats. He had been assigned to the ship Trapani as a port of unloading but due to the serious conditions in which the rescued survivors were found, the ship had been authorized to reach Lampedusawhere it is still today.
After the last arrival at the dock the crew had written: “During the disembarkation in Lampedusa in the early morning, we had already been informed that our ship is in a state of detention for violation of the new Italian decree”. “24 hours after we were told our vessel was detained, we still do not have an official written justification for the detention. We know of dozens of boats in distress just off the island right now, yet we are being prevented from rendering assistance. This is unacceptable!“, wrote the crew of the Louise Michel in a statement. The Coast Guard released a note on the facts in the afternoon.
Five interventions carried out by the ship yesterday. At 2:10 the first against two groups of 38 migrants each, subsequently transferred to the Coast Guard patrol boat CP273. At 6.30 the ship landed on the commercial wharf another 78 people who were on a rubber dinghy, but also another 39 (9 women) who were traveling on an iron boat of about 7 meters, and still another 39 (6 women and 1 minor) and then 24 (six women and one minor). The Louise Michel was detained for violating the new code of conduct for NGO vessels, which came into force last January, according to a Coast Guard note. “With the current situation at sea, keeping a rescue ship in port while women, men and children risk dying is absurd,” said Luca Casarini, head of mission of Mediterranea Saving Humans.
The ship is a former French navy vessel purchased with the proceeds from the sale of Banksy’s artwork, the artist known worldwide for his street works and his anonymity. “Like many successful people in the art world, I bought a yacht,” he ironically explained three years ago. After the purchase the vessel had been refitted for search and rescue operations. It is 30 meters long, its name is inspired by the French anarchist and revolutionary Louise Michel. A capitanarala Also Klemp, contacted by Banksy himself in 2019. “Hi Pia, I read your story in the newspapers. You look like a tough guy to me.”
35 years old, German, humanitarian activist, studies in marine biology, past experiences in the Mediterranean with the Sea Watch is at Iuventa. A trial for aiding and abetting illegal immigration is still open against him. “I am an artist from the UK and have made several works inspired by the migrant crisis. Obviously I can’t keep the money to myself. Could you use them to buy a boat or something? Let me know please. Good job, Banksy”, continued that email from Banksy that Klemp showed to Guardian. “I don’t see sea rescue as a humanitarian action but as a form of anti-fascist struggle”she had added.
Meanwhile, the landings continue. The hotspot is collapsing, over two thousand people, the capacity would be 400. The Louise Michel had arrived yesterday in Lampedusa with 178 migrants on board, rescued on four different boats.
Note from the Coast Guard
“The provision was issued following the investigations carried out by IMRCC Rome (rescue coordinator authority) on the basis of Legislative Decree 1/2023, converted into law 15/2023 and containing ‘urgent provisions regarding the transit and stop in territorial waters of non-governmental ships engaged in rescue operations at sea’. Specifically, the unit after having carried out the first rescue intervention in Libyan waters, it contravened the provision given to reach the port of Trapani, instead directing on 3 other units of migrants on which, however, under the coordination of IMRCC Rome, they were already directing to rescue the means of the Italian Coast Guard“.
“The instructions given to the Ong ship, considering its small size, were also aimed at preventing it from taking on board such a number of people as to jeopardize both its safety and that of the migrant boats it would assist. Furthermore, non-compliance with the provisions slowed down the arrival of a port of disembarkation for the migrants rescued in the first intervention, initially identified as that of Trapani by the Ministry of the Interior, thus leading to a redesign of the decision so as to converge the arrival of the NGO, for reasons of security and urgency, in the port of Lampedusa, already solicited by the numerous arrivals of migrants in recent days“.
“To this behavior which already in itself complicated the delicate work of coordinating the rescue – we read again – were added the constant calls from NGO aircraft that overloaded the communication systems of the national rescue coordination centre, overlapping and duplicating the signals of the already present air assets of the State. Similarly, the episode cited by the NGO Ocean Viking and referring to the alleged shootings of the Libyan coast guard which took place in the SAR area falling under the responsibility of another national coordination center, was not reported to the flag country as would be required by the safety regulations of navigation, but to the Italian coordination centre, on an ongoing basis, also ending up with overloading the IMRCC in particularly intensive moments of relief in progress. Nevertheless, in 48 hours, under the coordination of the Italian Coast Guard, over 3,300 people aboard 58 boats were rescued”.