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Activist of the »Alan Kurdi«: 150 people saved
Photo: CEDRIC FETTOUCHE / AFP
There are seven toilets on board the "Alan Kurdi"; the wastewater tanks of the civilian rescue ship measure 14 cubic meters.
Not even the crew knows that out of their heads, but on May 7, in the middle of the first wave of the corona pandemic, the German Interior Minister dealt with the numbers.
At this time the Italian authorities had arrested the "Alan Kurdi" in the port in Sicily.
Despite warnings from the German and Italian authorities, the crew was the only private sea rescue ship to leave, bringing 150 refugees ashore.
In Rome one was not enthusiastic.
In the midst of the pandemic, the government couldn't use the pictures of stranded migrants.
During an inspection, the Italian authorities subsequently found technical defects.
Among other things, the waste water tanks are too small, it said.
The ship sailing under the German flag was not allowed to sail for the time being.
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"Alan Kurdi" in the Mediterranean: always stuck
Photo: Karsten Jäger / dpa
Two days later, Horst Seehofer wrote to Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer on the matter, the letter had been sent to SPIEGEL.
He has already been pointed out several times to the different legal assessment of the Italian authorities and the German flag state authority, it says.
Seehofer takes the side of Rome.
"In my opinion, there is a considerable discrepancy between the requirements for the equipment of cargo ships, which in the present case are attached to the ship, and the actual requirements, which lie in the self-declared mission of the ship." Seehofer's argument is that of Italy: There the ship regularly saves many people, stricter rules must apply to them than to normal cargo ships.
The waste water tanks are only designed for the crew, but not for the high number of refugees on board.
In the letter that SPIEGEL received from the transparency portal Ask the State, the federal government blackened the name of the ship.
However, there is no doubt that it is about the "Alan Kurdi".
This can be reconstructed using several of the data mentioned.
Italy systematically arrests ships - and puts pressure on Germany
The Italian authorities have been preventing the sea rescuers from leaving for months.
Usually the ships lie in port for months until all defects can be rectified.
The NGOs speak of a targeted campaign.
"Salvini's nagging was not as effective as the current government's policy," says Gorden Isler, chairman of the Sea-Eye association that runs the "Alan Kurdi".
The center-left government is silent but ruthless.
The authorities always sent the same inspectors from Rome to the NGO ships, who would then complain about new little things each time.
"A refugee has never been harmed on board due to insufficient equipment."
"If Seehofer prevails, even more people will die."
Gorden Isler, Sea-Eye
At least 739 boat refugees drowned in the central Mediterranean this year.
The EU long ago suspended a state rescue mission.
In November, which was particularly deadly, there were at times no civilian rescue ships sailing off the Libyan coast.
Five ships alone could not sail because Italian authorities detained them during port controls.
Sometimes the inspectors complained about excess life jackets, sometimes it was about the toilets, as with the "Alan Kurdi".
A rescue ship is currently on the move, the "Alan Kurdi" is at least allowed to repair the deficiencies in a Spanish port.
Seehofer's letter reveals how much the Interior Minister embraces Italy's efforts.
He vehemently advocates stricter regulations.
"Seehofer wants to put us on the chain by trying to introduce a new category just for civil sea rescuers," says Isler.
"That would be devastating for us." In the worst case, Germany could withdraw "Alan Kurdi" 's security certificate.
Sea Eye would then have to decommission their ship or undertake expensive conversions that the association can hardly afford.
"The German rescue ships would not be operational for many months," says Isler.
"If Seehofer prevails, even more people will die."
Upon request, the Ministry of the Interior announced that the federal government was only trying to prevent humanitarian emergencies in the Mediterranean.
This does not mean boat accidents, but emergencies on board the often overcrowded rescue ships that are regularly not allowed to call at European ports for weeks.
"The ships must be equipped according to their purpose," it says.
"Corresponding concerns of the neighboring states must therefore be taken seriously and examined."
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Rescue workers and castaways on board the "Alan Kurdi": 739 dead
Photo: CEDRIC FETTOUCHE / AFP
Seehofer is obviously not worried about overcrowded wastewater tanks.
The sea rescuers would strain the German government's relations with partners on the European external borders, he wrote in the letter.
The dispute has an impact on the planned reform of European migration policy, which has been debated in Brussels for months.
The Italian authorities had given it "unequivocally" to understand that the irregularities also required action by the German flag state.
Now "rapid action by the federal government is required."
Seehofer closes the letter with a clear instruction to Scheuer: The federal government does not question the legal obligation to rescue at sea.
Nevertheless, he should contact the authorities concerned in order to "discuss their concerns about the technical suitability of the ship in question, which are certainly not unfounded, and then act".
Seehofer defies his face
In spring, Scheuer tightened the ship safety regulations.
The reform has since been declared illegal by a court.
Back then, it was mainly the left and the Greens who believed that Horst Seehofer could have caused this.
At least in the case of "Alan Kurdi", Scheuer defied the Minister of the Interior.
From the point of view of the Ministry of Transport, the ship has the necessary certificates, said a spokeswoman.
Scheuer had already reprimanded Seehofer in his written answer.
"Dear Horst," wrote Scheuer, according to international law, in case of doubt, sea rescue has priority over safety and environmental requirements.
Incidentally, wrote Scheuer, the ships of the Bundeswehr that sometimes rescued refugees in the Mediterranean did not have additional waste water tanks.
Icon: The mirror
