With 555 people on board, "
an untenable situation
", the ocean rescue vessel
Ocean Viking
asked the competent maritime authorities on Monday for the allocation of a safe port, according to the NGO SOS Méditerranée.
Read also: The Ocean Viking helps 175 migrants in the Mediterranean
"
We asked all the competent authorities: Malta, Tunisia, Libya, and today Italy,
" said SOS Méditerranée.
Malta gave a negative response, while Libya and Tunisia “
did not respond
”.
An "
untenable
situation
on board
"
More than 700 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean aboard makeshift boats were embarked during the weekend during operations carried out by the
Ocean Viking as
well as by the ships of the German NGOs Sea-Watch and ResQship.
Read also: The Ocean Viking authorized to disembark 572 migrants in Sicily, according to SOS Méditerranée
"
With an intensifying swell and stifling heat, the physical condition of those on board is deteriorating,
" the NGO tweeted on Monday.
"
Many suffer from seasickness. Some have fainted on our deck because of the heat and the ordeal they have experienced,
" testified on Twitter a head of the medical team.
https://twitter.com/SOSMedFrance/status/1422213480833331202
After each rescue, the NGOs must wait, stranded at sea sometimes for several days, for the allocation of a "
safe port
" by the maritime authorities to disembark.
Despite persistent insecurity, Libya remains an important crossing point for tens of thousands of migrants seeking each year to reach Europe via the Italian coast, 300 kilometers from the Libyan coast.
Europe called to have a distribution mechanism
The spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in France, Céline Schmitt, called on Europe at the beginning of July to “
urgently
”
equip itself
with an automatic, predictable and solidarity-based distribution mechanism for rescued migrants in order to To offer them the guarantees of a better reception and not to leave only the countries bordering the Mediterranean in the front line.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), migrant departures, interceptions and arrivals in the central Mediterranean are on the increase this year and at least 1,113 people have died in the Mediterranean in the first half of 2021 while trying to reach the 'Europe.
