Aquarius (ship)

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Aquarius
Fishing protection ship Meerkatze (2006)
Fishing protection ship Meerkatze (2006)
As of 2018
flag PanamaPanama Panama
other ship names

Vervet Monkey (1977–2009)
Aquarius 2 (since 2018)

Ship type Special vessel
( Special Purpose Ship )
Callsign 3FML5
home port Panama
Owner MV "Aquarius" GmbH & Co. KG 
Shipyard Lürssen
Build number 13453
Keel laying June 9, 1976
Launch November 19, 1976
Whereabouts underway as a rescue ship
From 1977
flag GermanyGermany (official flag) Germany
Ship type Fishing protection ship
Callsign DBFM
home port Cuxhaven
Owner Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food
Decommissioning 2008
Whereabouts Auctioned in 2009
From 2009 on
flag Gibraltar Gibraltar
Ship type Survey ship / special ship
Callsign ZDJI3
home port Gibraltar
takeover April 2, 2009
Removal from the ship register 20th August 2018
Ship dimensions and crew
length
77.0 m ( Lüa )
width 11.75 m
Draft Max. 5.75 m
measurement 1812 GT / 544 NRZ
 
crew 9–14 (up to 2008: 29)
Machine system
machine Diesel-electric drive
2 × electric motors from Siemens AG Dynamowerk (type: IP 4330-2 DM-04)
Machine
performanceTemplate: Infobox ship / maintenance / service format 		2,250 kW (3,059 hp)
Top
speed 		15 kn (28 km / h)
Generator
powerTemplate: Infobox ship / maintenance / service format 		2,897 kW (3,939 hp)
propeller 1 × fixed propeller
Transport capacities
Load capacity 611 dw
Permitted number of passengers 500 castaways 
Others
Classifications DNV GL
Registration
numbers 		IMO no .: 7600574

The Aquarius (since August 2018 Aquarius 2 ) is a private survey ship that was used as a rescue ship by a private aid organization in the Mediterranean from 2016 to 2018 . Under the name Meerkatze , it was used from 1977 to 2008 as the state fisheries protection ship of the Federal Republic of Germany . The ship became known around the world in June 2018 through its voyage from the road from Sicily to Valencia in Spain . At the end of 2018, the ship was stopped.

Technical specifications

The ship is powered by diesel-electric technology . The traction motors are two electric motors from Siemens AG Dynamowerke, each with an output of 1125  kW , which act on a fixed propeller. Four diesel generators with a total of 2897 kW output and a harbor or emergency generator with 158 kW output are available for power generation. The ship is equipped with a transverse thruster control system.

history

Monkey

The ship was built under construction number 13453 at the Fr. Lürssen shipyard . The keel was laid on June 9 and the launch on November 19, 1976. The completion of the ship took place, the ship of the December 9, 1977. Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food bereedert was replaced the monkey II , the former research vessel Anton Dohrn , that this name since the decommissioning of the first monkey had worn.

The ship, classified by Germanischer Lloyd , has ice class E2. It was mainly used in the central North Sea and the North Atlantic . Due to its design, the ship is extremely seaworthy even in bad weather. At the beginning of 2009 it was decommissioned and replaced by a new building of the same name in April of the same year .

Aquarius

Survey ship Aquarius (2012)

After decommissioning in 2008, the ship was bought by the RS Research Shipping (now: Jasmund Shipping) in Bremen , handed over on April 2, 2009 and then rebuilt. Under the name Aquarius , it came back into service as a private survey ship under the flag of Gibraltar . Until the end of 2015 it was on its way to oil storage sites or was used to lay marine cables and in the wind energy business . It was last stationed in Mukran on Rügen , the home port of the Lietzow shipowner Christoph Hempel. For the time being, her last mission as a survey ship took the Aquarius off the Siberian coast in late autumn 2015 .

Use in the refugee crisis

From February 2016 , the organization SOS Méditerranée chartered the ship and used it in the Mediterranean as part of the sea rescue of people who want to get to the EU via the Mediterranean route without entry papers.

During her missions, the Aquarius stationed in Catania , Sicily , cruised in the waters around Lampedusa and near the Libyan coast. In the course of 2016, it took in more than 10,000 people in distress in the Mediterranean. In addition to the crew, 23 employees from the aid organizations operating the ship were on board : thirteen helpers from SOS Méditerranée and ten employees from Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

In the summer of 2017, the operators of Aquarius were among the private organizations that signed the Italian government's code of conduct presented by the then Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti , which excludes self-directed rescue services. All rescue operations must be coordinated by the Italian Coast Guard Central Operations Command ( MRCC Rome ).

In 2018, in addition to the Aquarius and the Spanish tug Open Arms , which was temporarily confiscated by the Italian public prosecutor in March 2018, only the German Sea-Watch 3 , the Dutch-flagged ships Lifeline and Seefuchs and a few smaller boats were used to rescue refugees in the Mediterranean active.

In December 2018, the organization announced that it would end the Aquarius mission because the political pressure was too great. One lamented a "high point in the criminalization of humanitarian aid at sea". By then, the Aquarius had rescued around 30,000 migrants at sea.

Random trip with refugees in June 2018

The number of departures from the Libyan coast in unseaworthy tug boats had again increased significantly at the beginning of June 2018. In addition to the time of year, the fact that the Libyan coast guard hardly seemed to be present in Libya because of the resurgence of civil war played a role . Between June 8 and 10, 2018 , over 1200 people were rescued from various ships, including the Aquarius .

On the Aquarius there were 629 migrants who had been taken on board by various boats in the course of a nine-hour rescue voyage on the evening of June 9 and came from 31, mostly sub-Saharan African countries. According to the aid organization, which previously usually brought the rescued boat occupants to Italy , 123 were unaccompanied minors, eleven small children and six to nine pregnant women. In addition, according to Médecins Sans Frontières , who are taking care of the transport, there were injured people on the ship who suffered hypothermia or had to be resuscitated during their rescue , as well as 21 patients with chemical burns from contact with fuel. According to the helpers, two young migrants are missing and probably drowned during the difficult rescue operation of the Aquarius .

The recently appointed Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini , head of the xenophobic Italian party Lega Nord , surprisingly announced on June 10 that he would not allow the ship to land in his country; and the Maltese government refused the Aquarius the entry into the port of Malta, as Italy demanded . After two days of diplomatic dispute between Italy and Malta, the recently elected head of government of Spain , the socialist Pedro Sánchez , declared that his country would accept the migrants. The Aquarius was at that time, 1,300 kilometers from the Spanish coast, what a journey of about four days meant. Since the weather conditions were too bad for the long voyage and food supplies on board were running out , the regional government of the French island of Corsica , dominated by the Corsican nationalists , offered to open a Corsican port for the Aquarius . Shortly before, the Maritime Rescue Control Center MRCC Rome had decided to bring the people to the port of Valencia on Italian ships . About 500 people were distributed on two Italian ships, while the remaining castaways remained on the Aquarius . Meanwhile, an Italian ship was supplying the Aquarius with fresh food from dinghies .

Ride of the Aquarius from June 8 to 17, 2018
Source: El País , Naiara Galarraga (correspondent on the Aquarius )

After reloading its passengers, the Aquarius set course for Valencia on the evening of June 12, shortly before 10:00 p.m. together with its two escort ships, the deep-sea patrol boats L. Dattilo of the Italian Coast Guard and Orione of the Italian Navy . There were still 106 people on the Aquarius : 51 women, 45 men and 10 children. The selection made by a triage commission of Doctors Without Borders under great time pressure involved those cases among the fellow travelers classified as particularly vulnerable: in addition to injured and sick women, pregnant women and small children with their mothers and their male companions; lastly also some unaccompanied young people, who are all younger than 15 years old and supposedly come from Sudan and Eritrea . Heavy weather with waves over four meters high and thunderstorms were announced for the trip . After leaving the Straits of Sicily , the ship got winds of up to 30 knots at night  , many people on board were seasick and very exhausted. According to the helpers, none of the passengers was in critical condition. After driving through the road between Corsica and Sardinia on June 14, the weather outlook improved. The arrival in Valencia, originally expected for Saturday, June 16, was delayed by almost a day.

On June 16, 2018, the convoy reached Spanish territorial waters and passed the Balearic Islands during the day . East of Menorca , the high seas patrol boat Vigía of the Spanish Navy was waiting for the Aquarius , which led the convoy to the port of destination. On the last leg of the journey the sea was slightly rough and the ships sailed at a speed of around 8 knots. In order to ensure better support, the three ships entered Valencia at intervals of several hours. Almost 300 members of the Spanish Red Cross, supported by thousands of volunteers, were ready to organize accommodation and first aid on site. In the early morning of June 17th, the L. Dattilo was the first to reach the port of Valencia with 273 refugees on board. Shortly before 11 a.m., the Aquarius arrived in the port basin of Valencia, escorted by the Vigía , several lifeboats and ships of the Guardia Civil and Spanish NGOs , including the Open Arms . Disembarkation of the inmates began after noon. Unlike the people transported on the L. Dattilo , they were informed about the current events and knew where they were. The Orione reached the port in the afternoon with 250 refugees. The unaccompanied minors on the ships, most of whom are said to be between 15 and 17 years old, were received by the aid organization Save the Children . A total of 144 people had to be taken to hospitals. After health and identity checks by medical officers and the national police , the remaining people were taken from the port to quarters of the Valencian government, where they spend the first week after their arrival on land.

Unlike migrants who were picked up on boats and rafts on the Spanish coast after illegally crossing the border (that was 1103 people on the weekend from June 15 to 17 in the coastal section between Motril and Tarifa in Andalusia alone ), the shipwrecked refugees received from the Aquarius in Spain, a humanitarian right of residence of 45 days in which they need not to ask for asylum and no deportation fear must. On the basis of a bilateral agreement, you can also apply for protection for France directly in Spain. You could also continue your journey. Minors and pregnant women enjoy protection against deportation beyond the 45-day period. After their arrival, according to the Spanish Refugee Agency (CEAR), all 629 people admitted to the Aquarius declared that they wanted to apply for asylum , around half in Spain and France.

Subject of political dispute

The behavior of the governments led to a refugee policy discussion at European level from mid-June 2018, in which Frans Timmermans , Vice President of the EU Commission , called on the EU member states to find a joint solution to the migration problem in the Mediterranean. "We have to stop dying in the Mediterranean," he said before the European Parliament . In the debate, the chairman of the social democratic parliamentary group , Udo Bullmann (SPD), complained that the children and pregnant women on the boat were in a "devastating situation". The leader of the Liberals , Guy Verhofstadt , spoke of a "scandal". The approval for the rejection of the Aquarius came from the Austrian Harald Vilimsky (FPÖ), a representative of the right- wing parliamentary group in the European Parliament, who praised Italy's Interior Minister Salvini.

Salvini thanked the Spanish government for their "good heart" and celebrated the admission of the boat refugees by Spain domestically as a success of his tough stance. Only then did Italy manage to initiate a new political discussion on immigration at the European level. The rejection of the Aquarius had previously also been criticized within Italy. Several mayors of Italian port cities such as Palermo and Naples had expressed their willingness to open their ports to the Aquarius . Criticism of the measure also came from the Vatican . Salvini was also criticized by representatives of the left-wing populist five-star movement , which is a coalition partner of the Lega in the Italian government. Transport Minister Danilo Toninelli , on the other hand, defended the approach as "appropriate political pragmatism", since Italy could not bear the responsibility alone. The mayor of Livorno , who also belongs to the five stars, had to withdraw his promise to open the city's port to Aquarius under pressure from the governing coalition. Interior Minister Salvini reiterated that the country's ports would remain closed to aid organizations' refugee ships, while state ships could still bring rescued migrants ashore in Italian ports.

French President Emmanuel Macron accused the Italian government of "cynicism and irresponsibility" for its behavior in the Aquarius affair. A few days before the planned inaugural visit of the Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in Paris , the French ambassador in Rome, Christian Masset, was summoned to a discussion by the Italian Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi . Salvini asked Macron to apologize, failing to question Conte's visit to Paris. Meanwhile, the French Foreign Minister Le Drian offered his Spanish counterpart Borrell to take passengers on the Aquarius in France. The heads of government of the two countries agreed that inmates of the Aquarius convoy who wanted to travel on to France would be guided across the French border unbureaucratically. The mood in France was divided: While some supporters of the presidential party La République en marche, the initially cautious reactions of the French government did not go far enough, Front National leader Marine Le Pen praised the Italian approach and characterized the rejection of Aquarius as " Australian method ", which led to the fact that the flow of illegal immigrants to Australia dried up (see Migration and Asylum Policy of Australia ). The bourgeois MP Eric Ciotti demanded that the Aquarius must return to the Libyan coast and declared: "Hardness is the pledge of humanity."

In the European Parliament in Strasbourg on June 13, 2018, at the request of the Belgian Philippe Lamberts , chairman of the Green Group , an extraordinary debate on the rejection of the Aquarius took place, in which, however, almost exclusively Spanish and Italian MEPs took part. Some accused Italy of violating international and maritime law , sometimes with harsh language, while others defended the Italian leadership against allegations of xenophobia . Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said that he would not get involved in the "game of mutual blame". At their working lunch in Paris on June 15, however, Macron and Conte tried to bring their points of view closer together. Both called for a complete reorganization of the European asylum system and the abandonment of the non-functioning principle of the Dublin Convention , which imposes excessive burdens on the country of entry of refugees. On August 11, 2018, Chancellor Merkel called for a reorganization of European asylum policy.

August 2018

On August 10, the Aquarius took 141 people (most of them allegedly from Somalia and Eritrea; 67 of them allegedly unaccompanied minors) on board. Spain refused Aquarius access to Valencia because this port is not the one closest to the rescue site, as required by international law.

The Gibraltar Maritime Administration of Gibraltar, where the Aquarius was previously registered, ordered the owner to delete the Aquarius from the Gibraltar shipping register with effect from August 20, 2018. The reason for this is that the Aquarius is registered as a survey vessel , but is actually used as a rescue ship. Previously, the Gibraltar Maritime Administration had unsuccessfully requested the owner to refrain from using the ship in accordance with the registration. With the end of the registration, the Aquarius is no longer authorized to fly the flag of Gibraltar. The ship has carried that of Panama since the loss of Gibraltar's flag and was renamed Aquarius 2 in connection with the flag change . Panama also withdrew its registration at the end of September 2018 after Italy submitted reports that the ship would not abide by international agreements and not return rescued refugees to their port of departure. At the time, the activists were transporting ten Pakistanis and one Ivorian who they had picked up 28 nautical miles off the coast of Libya. They had again refused to obey the instruction to hand the people over to the Libyan coast guard. In the end, Malta agreed to allow the ship to dock after the governments of Germany, France, Portugal and Spain had promised to take in the 58 migrants.

Web links

Commons : IMO 7600574  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d data sheet (PDF; 1.1 MB) from the operator (Jasmund Shipping GmbH), as of November 14, 2017.
  2. ↑ MSF's own information, accessed June 11, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Aquarius" ends its mission in the Mediterranean. In: Spiegel Online , December 6, 2018, accessed December 7, 2018.
  4. ↑ a b "Aquarius" starts the rescue mission. In: Ostsee-Zeitung , December 11, 2015, accessed on June 12, 2018.
  5. ^ A b c Dominik Straub: Italy closed ports for refugee boats. In: Der Standard , June 11, 2018, accessed June 15, 2018.
  6. ↑ MS "Aquarius": Sea Rescue for the Mediterranean. In: Hamburger Abendblatt , January 27, 2016, accessed on June 12, 2018.
  7. ↑ SOS Méditerranée Deutschland eV (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 25, 2016 ; accessed on March 25, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Homepage) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / sosmediterranee.org
  8. ↑ Hundreds of refugees have to endure in the Mediterranean. In: FAZ , June 11, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  9. ^ "Aquarius" saved over 10,000 people from the Mediterranean. In: Ostsee-Zeitung , January 4, 2017, accessed on June 12, 2018.
  10. ↑ Naiara Galarraga Gortazar: "No somos la solución, somos un Sintoma". In: El País , June 18, 2018, accessed the same day.
  11. ↑ a b Constanze Reuscher: Why the refugee rescuers are Italy's least problem. In: Die Welt , June 12, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  12. ↑ a b "Aquarius" arrived in Valencia after a long odyssey. In: Die Welt , June 17, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  13. ↑ "Aquarius" ends its mission in the Mediterranean. In: Spiegel Online. December 6, 2018, accessed December 7, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Naiara Galarraga Gortazar: Los Ulises del siglo XXI. In: El País , June 17, 2018, accessed the same day.
  15. ↑ a b c d Reiner Wandler: Valencia is preparing for refugees from Aquarius. In: Der Standard , June 16, 2018, accessed the same day.
  16. ↑ a b c d e f g España acoge ya a los 629 inmigrantes rescatados por el Aquarius tras llegar al Puerto de Valencia. In: El Mundo , June 17, 2018, accessed the same day.
  17. ↑ a b Refugee ship is to be brought to Spain. In: Die Welt , June 12, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  18. ↑ a b c Cristina Vázquez: Un dispositivo de 2,300 personas recibe de madrugada en Valencia a la flotilla del 'Aquarius'. In: El País , June 16, 2018, accessed the same day.
  19. ↑ a b Buques italianos llevarán a los Migrantes del Aquarius a España. In: Heraldo , June 12, 2018, accessed the same day.
  20. ^ Rescue ship "Aquarius": Spain takes in 629 refugees. In: Spiegel Online , June 11, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  21. ↑ Spain wants to take the migrants on board the «Aquarius». In: NZZ , June 11, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  22. ↑ Bremerhaven ship is allowed to bring 629 refugees to Spain. In: buten un within , June 11, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  23. ↑ Corsica exposes Macron. In: FAZ , June 12, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  24. ^ El Aquarius y dos barcos italianos con 630 migrantes ponen rumbo a Valencia. In: La Vanguardia , June 12, 2018, accessed June 13, 2018.
  25. ↑ a b La última hora del barco Aquarius rumbo a València. Liveticker in: Levante , from June 12, 2018, accessed on June 13, 2018.
  26. ↑ Los migrantes del Aquarius ponen rumbo a Valencia en tres barcos. In: RTVE , June 12, 2018, accessed on June 13, 2018.
  27. ↑ a b c Naiara Galarraga Gortázar: La odisea de Mohamed, un niño valiente. In: El País , June 15, 2018, accessed the same day.
  28. ↑ Ship with refugees is not assigned to a port. In: FAZ , June 14, 2018, accessed on June 15, 2018.
  29. ↑ a b Rome demands an apology from France after Macron's criticism. In: Die Welt , June 13, 2018, accessed June 14, 2018.
  30. ↑ El Gobierno no descarta derivar a los Migrantes del 'Aquarius' a los CIE. In: El País , June 14, 2018, accessed the same day.
  31. ↑ a b Un patrullero de la Armada acompaña al Aquarius desde su entrada en aguas españolas. In: Europa Press , June 16, 2018, accessed June 19, 2018.
  32. ↑ El Gobierno concederá El estatus de refugiados a los Migrantes del 'Aquarius'. In: El País , June 13, 2018, accessed the same day.
  33. ↑ First refugees of the "Aquarius" reach Spain. In: Spiegel Online , June 17, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  34. ↑ a b Marc Dugge: Spain embassy to Europe. In: Deutschlandfunk , June 17, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  35. ↑ a b "Aquarius" refugees have landed in Spain. In: Tagesspiegel , June 17, 2018, accessed on June 18, 2018.
  36. ↑ a b El 'Aquarius' desembarca en Valencia. In: El País , June 17, 2018, accessed the same day.
  37. ↑ Dos 'aquarius' en un fin de semana: Más de 1,100 inmigrantes rescatados en Andalucía desde el fourernes. In: El Mundo , June 17, 2018, accessed the same day.
  38. ^ A b María Martín, Naiara Galarraga Gortázar: Lot 630 del 'Aquarius' reciben un permiso especial de residencia de 45 días. In: El País , June 18, 2018, accessed the same day.
  39. ↑ Watch: Which three documents were given to Aquarius migrants in Spain? In: Euronews , June 17, 2018, accessed June 18, 2018.
  40. ↑ Todos los inmigrantes del 'Aquarius' manifiestan su intención de pedir asilo. In: El Mundo , June 18, 2018, accessed June 19, 2018.
  41. ↑ "It is time for clear rules - also in Germany". In: FAZ , June 12, 2018, accessed on the same day.
  42. ^ Salvini celebra como una victoria el desembarco de los inmigrantes en España. In: Heraldo , June 12, 2018, accessed the same day.
  43. ^ A b Dominik Straub: Refugee boat Aquarius and the Salvini government. In: Der Standard , June 12, 2018, accessed June 16, 2018.
  44. ↑ a b Hans-Christian Rößler, Matthias Rüb , Michael Stabenow, Michaela Wiegel : Odyssey in the Mediterranean. In: FAZ , June 13, 2018, accessed on June 15, 2018.
  45. ↑ France wants to take in asylum seekers from the «Aquarius».  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.faz.net   In: FAZ , June 14, 2018, accessed on June 15, 2018.
  46. ↑ Francia ofrece a los acoger migrantes del Aquarius que quieran ir a ese país. In: El País , June 16, 2018, accessed the same day.
  47. ^ Más del 90% de la Eurocámara se ausenta durante el debate sobre el Aquarius. In: Público , 13./15. June 2018, accessed June 16, 2018.
  48. ^ Paris and Rome for asylum centers at the gates of the EU. In: Der Standard , June 15, 2018, accessed June 16, 2018.
  49. ↑ Merkel calls for a reorganization of European asylum policy. In: sueddeutsche.de. August 11, 2018, accessed December 7, 2018.
  50. ↑ zeit.de: EU is negotiating with member states about rescue ship
  51. ^ "Aquarius" saves 141 migrants from wooden boats , Der Spiegel, August 10, 2018.
  52. ↑ Naiara Galarraga Gortazar, Carlos E. Cué: Spain will not accept NGO ship 'Aquarius,' which is carrying 141 rescued migrants. El País, August 13, 2018, accessed September 23, 2018 .
  53. ^ Aquarius highly unlikely to come to Gib, GBC understands , Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation , August 13, 2018.
  54. ↑ Bianca Blei: Auxiliary Ship Aquarius: The Last Rescue in the Mediterranean , Der Standard, September 14, 2018
  55. ↑ Aquarius 2 ex Aquarius. Autoridad Marítima de Panamá, September 21, 2018, accessed September 24, 2018 .
  56. ↑ Panama withdraws approval for "Aquarius". Süddeutsche Zeitung, September 24, 2018, accessed on September 24, 2018 .
  57. ↑ Panama revokes registration of last migrant rescue ship in central Mediterranean. Reuters, September 23, 2018, accessed December 7, 2018 .
  58. ↑ Pourquoi le Panama veut retirer son pavillon à l 'Aquarius ” , le Monde, 22 September 2018.
  59. ↑ Aquarius: l'Allemagne également dans l'accord de répartition , Le Figaro, 25 September 2018.