On Saturday [September 30,2023], the Open Arms carried out three separate rescue operations in international waters, rescuing a total of 176 people. The first two boats had 33 and 36 people on board, and were traveling in dangerous conditions and without rescue equipment.
After completing the first two rescues and having received the indication of the port from the Italian authorities, the Open Arms received a mayday from the Seabird aircraft, of the NGO Sea-Watch, for an overcrowded and distressed vessel. The aircraft informed us that the Open Arms was the naval asset closest to the vessel in danger and that there were no other assets nearby. Therefore, we informed the competent authorities and headed towards the target approximately 20 miles from our position (approximately 2 hours of navigation).
Once we arrived on site, we found ourselves faced with a deflated and overloaded dinghy with 109 people on board, 94 of whom were unaccompanied minors. Our team therefore secured the castaways and transferred the people onto the deck of our ship, always informing the Italian authorities in real time who never provided a response to any of the emails sent. Therefore, we headed towards the port of Genoa which had already been assigned to us by the Italian authorities, then changed to that of Marina di Carrara.
After disembarking in the port, our Captain and our Head of Mission were listened to for over 6 hours by the competent authorities for a reconstruction of what happened during the mission. After the conversation with the authorities, our ship received a 20-day administrative detention order and a fine of 3 to 10 thousand euros.
We consider it truly unacceptable to have to suffer a second arrest for having done our duty, that is, for having respected the International Conventions and the Law of the Sea. We remember that it is the captain’s duty to assist shipwrecked people in danger of life and that failure to provide assistance is a serious crime punishable by law. All the people rescued were in conditions of extreme vulnerability, physically and psychologically tested, many of the children between 14 and 16 years old were alone, very worn out by the journey, by the violence they had suffered and by the fact of being far from their families.
“It seems ridiculous to me that professional lifeguards are punished and blocked for responding to a mayday in international waters, but what seems very sad and disappointing to me is the role of the Coast Guard; they should be professionals willing to disobey in order not to question their values and principles; even artificial intelligence would do better. Unfortunately, there is no way to escape from the prison at the bottom of the sea” – declares Oscar Camps, founder of Open Arms.
We will also face this detention and the consequent legal costs, convinced that we are on the right side of history, accustomed for 8 years now to having to defend ourselves due to a paradoxical reversal of reality whereby those who save lives are investigated, fined and arrested and those who instead incarcerate, torture, and blackmail vulnerable people are financed and supported with European funds.
