This is an unprecedented situation experienced by the Ocean Viking, in times of coronavirus. The humanitarian ship which collected 180 migrants in the Mediterranean declared itself this Friday in "state of emergency", due to multiple fights, suicide attempts or physical threats to the crew which punctuates its journey.
Thursday, two men threw themselves overboard in a desperate gesture. The day of this Friday began before the distribution of breakfast with a suicide attempt by hanging, followed by a fight involving several of the migrants rescued by the SOS Mediterranean ship during four separate operations, the 25 and June 30th.
“More guaranteed” security
Since then, "the situation on board has deteriorated to the point that the safety of the 180 survivors and the crew can no longer be guaranteed," explained SOS Mediterranean, which charters the ambulance boat on board which a journalist from the AFP is on board and for which the NGO claims an "immediate" landing.
Given the “extreme tension” that reigns there, the Ocean Viking therefore declared itself “in a state of emergency”, a first for a SOS Mediterranean boat, whose rescue operations at sea for 4 and a half years had started with the Aquarius, said spokeswoman Laurence Bondard. On the deck of the boat, the days have been divided for 48 hours between moments of calm, when most of the survivors remain for many in the containers which serve as their shelter against the oppressive heat, at sea, and bloodstains of some of them.
44 people in "acute psychological distress"
Since Thursday, several fights have broken out, mainly between ethnic groups, and six suicide attempts have been recorded. The bridge is now divided into several groups. First, a majority of migrants, around 130, who wait in peace while waiting to be able to reach the shores of Europe after having fled Libya. But there is also a restless minority, 44 Tunisians, Moroccans and Egyptians, for whom SOS Mediterranean asked in the afternoon for medical evacuation on the grounds of "acute psychological distress". The NGO team, in orange overalls, which had to double its staff on the bridge for safety reasons, must work to take care of these two groups.
At times, the whole team is even mobilized to calm the spirits. But since this Friday, it is also the crew which is targeted by these threats - sometimes of death -, emanating from the same group. Blocked for more than a week at sea, some migrants have developed paranoia, explains SOS Mediterranean, thinking in particular that the NGO, in cahoots with the Italian authorities, would earn a little more money every day if it kept them on board .
A “not safe” team
"I don't feel safe, we have to find a port now, it's a question of safety", explains Ludovic, one of the seafarers already present in the days of the Aquarius, summarizing the general feeling of the team. It's been a week since the ship made its first request to allocate a port to disembark these people, but after seven requests in as many days to the Italian and Maltese authorities - one of the rescues was carried out on the waters dependent on these two countries, while the other three were in those of Malta -, the Ocean Viking received a negative response from the two countries.
In the immediate future, regarding the medical evacuation request, Italy proposed… the telephone number of a psychologist, deplored SOS Mediterranean, for whom the current situation is the “direct consequence of a long and unnecessary blockage at sea ". “I am shocked by the response from the Italians. We have been doing this for almost five years (the rescues) and we have never seen anything like it, in terms of violence. We are talking about a very worrying situation, there could be deaths. We need help, ”says Nicholas Romaniuk, the head of rescue operations on board.
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“It was Malta who alerted us and gave us the position of one of the boats in distress and now they don't pick up the phone. There is no reason for these people to stay on board, neither legal nor moral. International maritime law is clear, they must disembark as quickly as possible in a safe port, "he insists. In the afternoon, the Ocean Viking went to position off Sicily. And waits for a signal to disembark.
