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Migrants transferred from a Banksy-funded ship have joined hundreds on another ship waiting in the Mediterranean as Italy and Malta refuse to let it dock, according to activists.
Some 150 people rescued this week by the MV Louise Michel, a former French navy ship bought by the elusive artist Banksy, were transferred to Sea Watch 4 Saturday after the ship became so overloaded that it could not move safely.
Sea Watch 4, run by migrant rescue charity Sea Watch International, said it now has 353 people on board and is waiting for a safe harbor.
The charity tweeted on Sunday: “Our guests have been at sea for days, and the MSF Sea team is currently treating many patients for dehydration, traumatic injuries, hypothermia and fuel burns.”
“We need a safe harbor now!”
He said neither Malta nor Italy, the closest European countries, allow them to dock and disembark at their ports.
A blue boat with 50 people was also seen near Malta on Saturday, Sea Watch said, and the Maltese Armed Forces gave them life jackets, but they have not been rescued.
Chris Grodotzki, Sea Watch 4 media coordinator, told Sky News that conditions on the ship were “quite tight.”
“People are everywhere,” he said.
“We have seen severe cases of seasickness, dehydration, fuel burns, caused by the mixture of fuel and salt water.”
Grodotzki said doctors had managed to “stabilize” those on board who are not feeling well, but added: “This is not a situation that can last long.”
“We will surely need a safe harbor as soon as possible.”
He said some people had been rescued on August 22 and remained on board.
“The people rescued yesterday from Louise Michel had also been at sea for quite some time without any intervention from the European authorities,” Grodotzki said.
“The Maltese, in whose area of responsibility they were stranded, simply did not respond to the call for help.”
Sea Watch 4 is currently between Malta and Italy, which are the “closest safe ports,” Grodotzki said.
He added: “By the law of the sea, it is understood that the closest safe ports are the ports where people rescued at sea must disembark.
“Since Malta … is ignoring all the laws of the sea, all humanitarian laws, it is most likely that Italy will intervene.
“They have shown in recent days that they are willing and able to help people in distress at sea.”
A post on Twitter by MV Louise Michel said that the obligation to rescue at sea is established in international maritime law.
“This obligation applies to all people in distress at sea, regardless of their nationality, reason for flight or legal status,” he said.
A migrant transferred from Louise Michel to Sea Watch 4
“Every sailor knows it by heart. UE, you don’t respect your own laws.”
A total of 49 migrants were rescued by the Italian coast guard on Saturday from MV Louise Michel, but the rest were not taken, according to the crew of the pink Banksy ship.
The migrants were taken to the small Italian island of Lampedusa, where residents protested Sunday and the mayor promised to call a protest strike over the number of migrants being brought there.
49 migrants were rescued by the Italian coast guard and taken to Lampedusa
A migrant center on the island destined for fewer than 200 people is now overcrowded with some 1,200 migrants after several new arrivals.
Lampedusa Mayor Toto ‘Martello expressed astonishment that a fishing boat carrying 450 migrants managed to reach a few kilometers from the island before being detected by military vessels or aircraft, including the European mission Frontex, which is allegedly fighting against human trafficking in the central area. Mediterranean.
The Italian coast guard escorted the fishing boat to the port on Saturday night, where Lampedusa residents held a protest, with some lying down and shouting “Enough!”
Lampedusa residents protested against the high number of migrants arriving on their island
A fishing boat with 450 migrants arrived in Lampedusa on Saturday night.
Martello said he would call a strike this week with merchants closing shops for a day on the island, which lives off tourism and fishing.
The strike is directed “against a government that does not have a strategy” to deal with migrants, he said.
A Catholic parish on the island has stepped in to find accommodation for the last few hundred arrivals, which also included several small boats with migrants that apparently left Tunisia and reached the island without rescue.
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