The Geo Barents is still sailing towards Ancona with 73 migrants on board. On the evening of January 10, the crew announced that the bad sea conditions will delay the arrival in the port, expected not before tonight or maybe tomorrow morning.
«The lower deck of the GeoBarents is flooded – reports from Médecins Sans Frontières – The survivors on board have been evacuated to the upper deck. All show symptoms of seasickness. Given the difficult navigation, we could arrive in #Ancona a day late”.
Also on January 10, the Ocean Viking, carrying 37 migrants, including 12 minors, attacked dock 22 in the port of Ancona. She too was faced with difficult navigation.
Piantedosi: NGO factor of attraction
In the meantime, the clash between the NGOs and Piantedosi continues. The Minister of the Interior reiterates that humanitarian ships represent a factor of attraction (pull factor) and could also affect the increasingly poor quality of boats leaving from Africa. The reasoning, says the minister, is that “then they come to get us and this favors the tragedies that then happen”.
Ocean Viking and Geo Barents had asked for a closer port but there was nothing to do. “As expected – reports Sos Mediterranee – the weather has seriously deteriorated with winds of 40 knots and waves of up to 6 meters, adding pain to the 37 survivors who have just narrowly escaped death. 95% suffer from seasickness. These further sufferings could have been avoided with the designation of a closer ‘place of safety’ in Italy».