Ocean Viking Explained

The Ocean Viking is a former Platform supply vessel used as a humanitarian ship chartered from July 2019 by the SOS Méditerranée association.

The vessel

The Ocean Viking was build as a Platform supply vessel and put into service in 1986 in Norway.[1]

On 21 July 2019 SOS Méditerranée announced a new rescue campaign off the Libyan coast, using the supply vessel Ocean Viking.[2] The approach is supported by the Norwegian authorities, who have given the vessel a flag.[3] The operation costs € 14,000 per day.[4] The vessel, which is 69 m long by 15 m beam, was built in 1986 to serve as a support vessel for oil rigs in the North Sea. It is operated by around thirty people (nine crew members, a search and rescue team and medical personnel)[3] and can carry up to 200 passengers.[5] It is faster and better equipped than the Aquarius.[6] Onboard microphones and cameras will make it possible to record everything that happens on board and around the boat, in order to possibly prove that the work was carried out within a legal framework[7] [8] The ship, which will respect[9] the ban on disembarking migrants in Italian ports[10] [11] is even banned from refueling in Malta.[12]

In 2024 french SOS Méditerranée president François Thomas estimated the cost for a day at sea for the Ocean Viking to be around € 24,000.[13]

Selected list of interventions

During its first outing, four rescue missions on 9, 10 and 11 August 2019,[4] [14] [15] [16] brought the number of refugees on board to 356,[16] to which were added a further 160 from on board the ship Open Arms.[17]

By 29 January 2020, when 407 migrants (recovered after five night rescue operations in less than 72 hours off Libya) disembarked in Taranto,[18] the number of people saved thanks to the operations of this ship had mounted to more than 1,600.[18]

The ship was impounded for five months from July 2020,[19] during which time additional equipment had been added, and released on 21 December 2020. Ocean Viking resumed operations in January 2021,[20] embarking journalists from Mediapart.[21] [22] The crew rescued 119 migrants off the Libyan coast on 21 January 2021;[23] two more rescues the next day brought the number of migrants on board to 374.[24] [25] They disembarked on 25 January at Augusta in Sicily.[26]

At the end of March 2021, the Ocean Viking was stranded to the south of Malta, pending permission to disembark 116 migrants rescued the previous week.[27] The crew of the ship then tried to rescue further migrants during the sinking of 22 April 2021 in the Mediterranean, but without success.[28]

On 28 March 2022, SOS Méditerranée announced via Twitter that it had received permission to bring almost 160 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean to Italy. The Ocean Viking headed to the port of Augusta in Sicily.[29] On 11 November 2022, the Ocean Viking arrived in the southern French port of Toulon with 234 people.[30]

On 25 March 2023, Ocean Viking was notified by Alarm Phone of a distress call in international waters. On the way to the emergency situation, the Libyan Coast Guard harassed the Ocean Viking and warning shots were fired in the air. The Ocean Viking had to turn away to protect itself while people fell into the water from the boat in distress. Video footage from a Sea Watch aircraft that observed and documented the maritime emergency was posted on Twitter.[31]

On 2 May 2023, the Ocean Viking docked in Civitavecchia near Rome with 168 migrants.[32]

On 7 July 2023, the Ocean Viking and its fast support vehicles initially picked up 40 people from a GRP boat off the Libyan coast. After a Libyan Coast Guard speedboat showed up, the only Arabic-speaking activist negotiated the rescue of people from another boat, which had since been spotted by an NGO plane a few nautical miles away. Apparently the Libyans also agreed to the rescue of these migrants - but then began to hinder the activists a little later with disruptive maneuvers and warning shots.[33] Two days later, 57 migrants were landed in Civitavecchia and the Italian authorities initially detained the ship.[34] Just a few days after landing, 10 Sudanese, Eritreans and Ethiopians, said to be between 14 and 17 years old, fled the accommodation assigned to them by the Italian authorities and went into hiding.[35]

On 13 March 2024, the vessel rescued 25 survivors from an inflatable dinghy, from which some 60 others had died.[36]

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/5325758/m-v-ocean-viking-hoyland-offshore-as Data sheet by former operator Hoyland Offshore from 2011
  2. News: Migrants : l'ONG SOS-Méditerranée annonce une nouvelle campagne au large de la Libye . 8 June 2021 . Le Figaro . 21 July 2019 . fr.
  3. News: Julia Pascual . SOS Méditerranée et MSF annoncent une nouvelle campagne de secours des migrants en mer . 10 March 2024 . Le Monde.fr . 21 July 2019 . fr.
  4. News: Franceinfo - Actualités en temps réel et info en direct: Les migrants secourus par le navire "Ocean Viking" ont dérivé 48 heures et sont "dans un état d'extrême fatigue". 8 June 2021 . Franceinfo . fr-FR.
  5. Web site: MSF reprend ses opérations de secours en mer face à la détérioration de la situation en Libye et à l'inaction européenne Médecins sans frontières . www.msf.fr . 8 June 2021 . fr . 2019-07-21.
  6. Web site: Lefèvre . Thibault . À bord de l'Ocean Viking, le nouveau navire de sauvetage de SOS Méditerranée et MSF . France Inter . 8 June 2021 . fr . 2 August 2019.
  7. News: A Marseille, le navire humanitaire « Ocean-Viking » se prépare à partir en Méditerranée . 8 June 2021 . Le Monde.fr . 2 August 2019 . fr.
  8. News: Migrants: l'Ocean Viking joue la transparence pour déminer les polémiques . 8 June 2021 . L'Express . 17 August 2019 . fr.
  9. Web site: SOS Méditerranée : "S'il nous est interdit d'entrer dans les eaux italiennes, nous n'irons pas" Les Inrocks (8/8/2019 and 17/3/2021) . www.lesinrocks.com . 8 June 2021 . fr-FR .
  10. News: L'Italie adopte un décret antimigrants, avec des amendes records pour ceux qui leur viennent en aide . 8 June 2021 . Le Monde.fr . 6 August 2019 . fr.
  11. News: Migrants: la justice italienne désavoue Salvini et ouvre ses bras à l'Open Arms . 8 June 2021 . Le Figaro . 14 August 2019 . fr.
  12. News: L'« Ocean-Viking », qui vient en aide aux migrants en Méditerranée, interdit de ravitaillement à Malte . 8 June 2021 . Le Monde.fr . 8 August 2019 . fr.
  13. News: Zwölf Tage mit Seenotrettern auf dem Meer: Für das Leben, gegen alle Widerstän . 12 August 2024 . Tagesspiegel . 12 August 2024 . fr.
  14. News: 85 migrants secourus par l'« Ocean Viking » au large de la Libye . 8 June 2021 . Le Monde.fr . 9 August 2019 . fr.
  15. News: Méditerranée : plus de 80 migrants secourus ce samedi par l'Ocean Viking . 8 June 2021 . L'Express . 10 August 2019 . fr.
  16. News: Méditerranée: 356 migrants à bord de l'Ocean Viking après un nouveau sauvetage . 8 June 2021 . Le Figaro . 12 August 2019 . fr.
  17. News: Méditerranée : 400 migrants bloqués à bord de navires humanitaires, sans port d'accueil . 8 June 2021 . Le Monde.fr . 12 August 2019 . fr.
  18. Web site: Des rêves de liberté après le cauchemar libyen pour les migrants de l'"Ocean Viking" . Franceinfo . 8 June 2021 . fr-FR . 29 January 2020.
  19. News: L'Italie immobilise le navire humanitaire « Ocean-Viking » pour raisons « techniques » . 8 June 2021 . Le Monde.fr . 23 July 2020 . fr.
  20. Web site: Reprise des opérations de l'Ocean Viking : "Il y a urgence à repartir, il n'y a plus aucun navire humanitaire sur place" (SOS Méditerranée) . Franceinfo . 8 June 2021 . fr-FR . 21 December 2020.
  21. https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/100121/sauvetages-en-mediterranee-l-ocean-viking-reprend-la-mer Sauvetages en Méditerranée: l’«Ocean Viking» reprend la mer
  22. https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/280121/ocean-viking-en-libye-les-violences-sexuelles-detruisent-les-femmes-migrantes «Ocean Viking»: en Libye, les violences sexuelles détruisent les femmes migrantes
  23. https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/220121/une-premiere-operation-de-sauvetage-de-119-migrants-reussie-pour-l-ocean-viking Une première opération de sauvetage de 119 migrants réussie pour l’«Ocean Viking»
  24. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/01/23/l-ocean-viking-effectue-un-troisieme-sauvetage-en-48-heures-et-secourt-106-personnes_6067366_3210.html L’« Ocean-Viking » effectue un troisième sauvetage en 48 heures et secourt 106 personnes
  25. https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/230121/374-migrants-secourus-en-48-heures-et-l-ocean-viking-prit-vie 374 migrants secourus en 48 heures: et l’«Ocean Viking» prit vie
  26. https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/240121/l-ocean-viking-debarque-en-sicile L’«Ocean Viking» a débarqué en Sicile
  27. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2021/03/22/le-navire-humanitaire-sea-watch-3-immobilise-par-les-gardes-cotes-italiens_6074053_3210.html Le navire humanitaire allemand « Sea-Watch 3 » immobilisé en Italie
  28. https://gettotext.com/anatomy-of-a-shipwreck-that-killed-130-people-in-the-mediterranean/ Anatomy of a shipwreck that killed 130 people in the Mediterranean
  29. News: Simmons . Lennard . Seenotrettung: "Ocean Viking" darf in Italien anlanden . Die Zeit . 14 March 2024 . de-DE . 28 March 2022.
  30. Web site: Neun EU-Länder werden Geflüchtete von Ocean Viking aufnehmen . DER STANDARD . 14 March 2024 . de-AT.
  31. Web site: red . ORF at/Agenturen . Libysche Küstenwache soll Rettungsaktion verhindert haben . Diversität - Aktuell . 14 March 2024 . de . 26 March 2023.
  32. News: Centrale . Redazione . Civitavecchia - Migranti, nuova infornata della Ocean Viking con 57 persone a bordo - EtruriaNews . 14 March 2024 . 10 July 2023 . it-IT.
  33. Web site: "Exclusive: the guardia costiera libica save against the soccer players during a salvataggio in the sea" . euractiv.it . 14 March 2024.
  34. Web site: Italien setzt NGO-Rettungsschiff Ocean Viking fest . DER STANDARD . 14 March 2024 . de-AT.
  35. Web site: Vallerga . Alessio . I minori della Ocean Viking scappano da Civitavecchia • Terzo Binario News . Terzo Binario News . 14 March 2024 . it-IT . 15 July 2023.
  36. News: 60 migrants die in dinghy in Mediterranean, survivors say . 14 March 2024 . BBC news . 14 March 2024.

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