Ocean carrier liability risk rises as steps are taken to stem the flow of trans-Med migrants
 The 611-dwt Liberian flagged NGO rescue ship Aquarius approached the shores of Italy loaded with 600 migrants, but was turned away. Italy, having elected a populist government, was now refusing the wholesale import of "refugees" from Libya.
Much to the chagrin of the NGOs Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and SOS Mediterranee, whose ships had performed hundreds of such landings over two years in the Mediterranean, the practice, which had become standard operating procedure, had come to an end.
Italy’s new rightist deputy prime minister and interior minister Matteo Salvini said the country would no longer allow the ship’s passengers to land from NGO rescue ships.
Good news for some, but it also meant ocean carriers using the Mediterranean as the super-highway of the Asia-Europe trade were once again conscripted into the rescue business, obliged to respond to pleas for help under UN rules.
At the same time, there was now no easy way of landing the rescued. “Italy is done bending over backwards and obeying,” said Mr Salvini under the hashtag #closethedoors.
In the case of the Aquarius rescue ship, the decision resulted in four days at sea, caring for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and babies, all left in limbo until the Spanish Government stepped in, offering to allow migrants to disembark in Valencia. But this was a one-time only offer.
While southern Europe has turned down its intake manifold, which has appeared to slow departures from Libya and the people smuggling business overall, it has tended to put the responsibility for rescue on the backs of international shipping.
Even though the NGO rescue ships, run by leftists bent on having the poor share in the riches of the West and to destroy the white patriarchy, have been running less of a rescue service than a trans-Mediterranean ferry service, they were still useful to international shipping.
With the leftist rescuers out of business, carriers of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) are now obliged to do the rescuing under UN rules, disrupting their schedules and breaching delivery contracts with customers. Not to mention having these duties put on the backs of short-handed crews of mega containerships, which are hardly equipped to care for people pulled from the sea.
The ICS, representing 80 per cent of the world's merchant fleet, has decried Italy's decision to close its ports to migrants rescued at sea by NGO rescue boats.
If NGO rescue ships are prevented from disembarking migrants in Italy, merchant ships would again have to be involved in rescues.
"ICS is calling on all EU member states to address concerns raised by the Italian government about the large number of rescued persons arriving in Italy, in order that the policy of prompt disembarkation - not just in Italy but in other EU member states can be affected," said ICS secretary general Peter Hinchliffe.
But the inflow of African migrants was deeply resented by Italian populists, who voted in a rightist government, which reversed the policy and imposed the ban.
NGOs have even been accused of flashing signal lights to assist the human traffickers, who could then put to sea in increasingly fragile and overloaded craft, knowing there was an NGO boat in the offing to rescue them and ferry passengers to asylum.
"The refusal by Italy to allow rescued persons to be disembarked could have serious implications for the safety and welfare of these distressed people, including children and pregnant women," said the ICS statement.
"To its great credit, the government of Italy has consistently permitted prompt and predictable disembarkation of people rescued by merchant ships as well as by vessels operated by humanitarian NGOs.
"But following the election of a new Italian government, the crisis now seems to be taking an ever more political direction," said the statement.
"The global shipping industry, as represented by the International Chamber of Shipping, is committed to meeting its obligations under the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Safety of Life at Sea Convention (SOLAS) to come to the rescue of any person in distress at sea.
Since the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean escalated three years ago, over 50,000 people have already been rescued by merchant ships, with many more rescued by military vessels and boats operated by humanitarian NGOs.
In the interest of protecting safety of life at sea, ICS is urging all European Union leaders to urgently address the concerns so that the policy of prompt and predictable disembarkation - consistent with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) principles - can be fully maintained.
Having previously refused access to vessels operated by humanitarian non-governmental organisations (NGOs), it is now understood that commercial ships, which have been requested by the Italian Rescue Co-ordination Centre to pick up people in distress, have also been refused permission by the Italian government to disembark these rescued people in Italy.
"If correct, this refusal by Italy to allow prompt and predicable disembarkation from merchant ships, which are complying with their obligations under maritime law, could have serious humanitarian consequences for the safety and welfare of hundreds if not thousands of distressed people" said ICS secretary general Peter Hinchliffe.
"If the policy is extended this would also have significant implications for the movement of trade throughout the Mediterranean. But the industry's immediate concern is humanitarian and for the welfare and dignity of those people that have been rescued and their need to receive proper medical assistance ashore," he said.
Italy is now joining newer members of the European Union, notably Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, who are closing their borders to southern migrants. Curiously, these countries are governed by right and leftwing governments, and enjoy popular support from their electorates for strong border policies. It appears when it comes to one's own neighbourhood, the right and the left can agree that they should be adequately protected from on onslaught if outsiders.
As far as international shipping in concerned, all agree that ships must do all they can to relieve distress of those who through accident or bad luck are in need of rescue at sea. But there comes a time to realise that those deliberately gaming the humanitarian system to forge an illicit trans-Mediterranean migrant ferry service against the popular will of the recipient nations, deserve little more that benign neglect. |
