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PRESS RELEASE

JOINT RESCUE OPERATION

OWNER OF GERMAN VESSEL MV “ALEMANIA”PRAISES CREW OF DUTCH VESSEL ‘ERASMUSGRACHT’ FOR MEDITERRANEAN MIGRANT RESCUE

393 Syrian migrants (including 70 children) were rescued from the Mediterranean Sea, on Friday (5 December) by the Dutch vessel “Erasmusgracht”, with the Burger Bereederungs Contor (BBC) container vessel MV „Alemania“ providing close support. It has been erroneously reported that the BBC vessel did not provide assistance.

On Friday 5th December, at 17.39 local time, according to the master of the container vessel MV „Alemania“, the ‘Alemania’ responded promptly and correctly to a distress call from the Italian Coastguard. The MV “ALEMANIA” remained on stand-by throughout the rescue operation and followed closely the instructions of the Italian Coastguard / Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) / Rome. Together with the assistance of MV “ERASMUSGRACHT” all 393 migrants could be rescued safely.

A copy of the interaction between the „ALEMANIA“, the Master of the ’Eramusgracht’ and the Italian Coastguard can be found below.

BBC managing director Mr Jacobsen said:

”We praise and thank the crew of our vessel in immediately responding to this distress call and offering assistance where they could.
We would also like to particularly commend the Master and crew of the ’Erasmusgracht’ and their assistance to those in the vessel who were in distress.
Under both the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, the shipmaster has an obligation to render assistance to those in distress at sea without regard to their nationality, status or the circumstances in which they are found. This is a longstanding maritime tradition as well as an obligation enshrined in international law.”

He added:

“We recognise that it is incumbent upon all our Masters and crews to respect this duty and legal obligation and we are proud to know that when confronted by such situations they respond in such a professional manner to such appalling scenes of misery and need.”

BBC condemns utterly those who engage in human trafficking and make money from the wretchedness of others.

For further details please contact Mark Clark, Navigate Response
T: +44 (0)20 7283 9915
E: mark.clark@navigateresponse.com

NOTES TO EDITORS

The sequence of events has now been reviewed and is repeated below:

• 17:12 hrs ALEMANIA received an unauthorised distress call on VHF Channel 16 which can initially not be located.

• 17.39hrs The Coastguard issued the emergency call alerting all vessels sailing in their waters to the distress about 250 miles south east of Salento, the “heel” of the Italian “boot”, in the Ionic sea between Greece and Italy. At the same time various other vessels including the Dutch cargo vessel ‘Erasmusgracht’ responded to the same call to the location.
• 17.58hrs The Italian Coastguard indicated that the Master of our vessel the ‘ALEMANIA’ was the on-scene commander. Two further merchant vessels also responded to the call and alerted the Coastguard that they were steaming into the area.
• 18.01hrs With the area now in darkness, our Master was in contact with MRCC Rome and a light aircraft also from the Italian Coastguard in the area directing ships onto the distressed vessels position. Debris was then located in the water including a flashing light and another vessel identified two liferings but with no one nearby.
• 18.24hrs A phone call was received from the Italian Coastguard now providing information about the vessel in distress: about 60m long and about 300 people aboard
• 1833hrs Our vessel arrived at rescue site, approached the vessel in distress by 0.1nm to evaluate the situation. A vessel of about 60m length with a lot of people on board was found. The description received by MRCC Rome was correct/verified. The vessel was not in a good overall condition but made the impression of being fully seaworthy. The people on board were safe for the time being.
• 18.35hrs. The migrant vessel contacted all vessels via VHF Channel 16.
• *Mohammed* (who was in retrospect very familiar with handling of a VHF for someone who is not a professional mariner) informed us, that the situation on board his vessel would get out of control if not all the people onboard could be evacuated onboard our vessel ‘ALEMANIA’
• 18.42hrs Advice from the Italian Coastguard to our Master was to stand by and await further instruction.
• Over the next 4 hours:
• Our Master tried to calm Mohammed down via VHF and informed him that help was under way.
• In permanent contact with MRCC Rome, our Master repeatedly asked for instructions. The MRCC´s reply was „Stand by! Don´t step in unless the vessel appears to sink or people are in danger!“ At no time in our Master’s evaluation were the refugees/ people on board in danger.
• Mohammed started to get very dramatic and tried to put pressure on the vessels in the close vicinity by stating that people would start throwing other people over board if nobody intended to take them onboard.
• Our Master remained in contact with the Master of the „ERASMUSGRACHT“ who confirmed he had received the same instructions from the Italian Coastguard to remain on „stand by“ and only „step in“ in case of imminent emergency.
• Both Masters then decided to continue to monitor the situation.
• „Mohammed“ contacted ERASMUSGRACHT and pressed the master to take the refugees on board. The Master of ERASMUSGRACHT tried to calm Mohammed down and repeated that help was under way.
• Again in contact with ERASMUSGRACHT: The master of ERASMUSGRACHT had decided to take action and to take people on board. He asked for support.
• Our Master replied to the master of ERASMUSGARCHT that he would assist in case of an emergency but that he would follow the Italian Coastguard instructions and only step in in case of danger.
• Reply by master of ERASMUSGARCHT: „OK, we will take the people on board now!“
• ERASMUSGRACHT started the „rescue operation“ and approached the ship/boats
• Master of ERASMUSGRACHT asked whether we would take people on board and „split“ them between us, whilst, according to the Dutch master, ERASMUSGARCHT had already taken the majority of the people on board.
• Our Master replied, ‘We would only do so if it was necessary’ Reply by master of ERASMUSGRACHT: „OK“ and he continued with his rescue operation
• ERASMUSGRACHT had all refugees on board and continues the voyage to Italy.
• Master of ERASMUSGRACHT confirmed via VHF having all refugees safely on board and released all ships that were on „stand by“ in the near vicinity
• Our Master contacted MRCC Rome via telephone and reported the current situation
• 22.50hrs MRCC Rome thanked our Master and released our vessel the ‘ALEMANIA’ from the rescue operation

NRC (national dutch newspaper), 3 jan. 2015

Also a Dutch captain rescued a ghost ship

Log book

Human traffickers abandon immigrants at sea with increasingly regularity. Last month a Dutch ship saved 400 refugees. A German ship refused to play into the hands of the traffickers.

By our correspondent Kees Versteegh

It is winter, but the Ionian Sea – between Italy and Greece – is quite calm. The Erasmusgracht, a freight ship from the Amsterdam shipping company Spliethoff, is carrying a cargo of marble from the Turkish Izmir to Poland. Then the satellite phone on the bridge begins to ring. The MRCC in Rome, the national agency which co-ordinates rescue operations at sea, would like to speak to the captain. The MRCC informs captain Joop van Zadel that a Coast Guard aircraft has spotted a boat with around 300 refugees, drifting out of control. According to the MRCC, whose screens indicate which commercial vessels are the area, the Erasmusgracht is relatively close.
The Dutch ship receives a request to assist in a so-called SAR operation (“search and rescue”), although it is situated to the west of the refugees and would have to make an about-turn. According to tradition and to the applicable laws of the sea, ships are required to help each other in an emergency situation. After a short deliberation, Van Zadel sets course for the position of the refugees.
Data from the international shipping trade organisation ICS report around 600 incidents a year of refugees in the Mediterranean being rescued by cargo vessels. Van Zadel (1962), who has been active for 30 years in seafaring has received his share of distress signals. Previously there were enough other ships in the area to help refugees. But not any more.
His own electronic systems indicate to Van Zadel that two other ships are also heading towards the indicated position. One is the Alemania from the shipping company Burger Bereederungs Contor (BBC) in Hamburg. BBC and Spliethoff are well acquainted with each other. If there is a cargo somewhere, but the company has no ship available at the moment, then the other company sends one. With a length of 133 meters, the Alemania is just a bit shorter than the the Erasmusgracht.
December 5, 4:20 pm
It is already almost dark as the Erasmusgracht reaches the position, after the Alemania. According to Van Zadel, the boat with the refugees is a rickety little cargo boat, around 60 meters long, “on its last legs”. There are lots of people on the little ship, but it is not “packed full”, as one is accustomed to seeing in photos in the newspaper.
By request from the Italian authorities, the Alemania, as the first to arrive, takes the roll of on-scene co-ordinator. The captain of the Alemania transmits the orders of the Italians to Van Zadel: “Stand by, await further instructions.”
The captains exchange identification information. “Mohammed” had alerted the Italian Coast Guard, via maritime channel 16, the international emergency channel, that he was on board a ship with 300 refugees and that the crew had left the ship. The traffickers had disabled the motor. The situation was dire, said Mohammed. There was barely any more water to drink. There were many children on board.
December 5, 6:30 pm
The Alemania and the Erasmusgracht see that the people on the ship are getting increasingly restless. Mohammed’s requests for help get increasingly urgent. The German captain urges him to remain calm and says that help is on the way. “That was our own conjecture”, says a specially hired “crisis spokesman” from the Germany shipping company afterwards. “Why else would the MRCC have asked us to remain on stand by and to do nothing further, except in case of emergency?”
Mohammed’s actions cause the Germans to become mistrustful. “It caught our attention”, says the spokesman, “how professionally he handled the radio. It would be awful if it were to turn out later that he was a human trafficker.” Van Zadel: “It is certainly possible that Mohammed was a crook, but what message would that have sent to all those women and children?”
The irritation grows on board the Erasmusgracht. What if the refugees jump overboard to try to reach one of the ships? There appeared to be no help on the way from the Italians. The Alemania is not to be swayed and reports later: “The vessel was not in good condition, but it gave the impression of being fully seaworthy. The people on board were safe for the time being.”
Van Zadel calls a legal advisor from Spliethoff in Amsterdam, who advises the captain to do what he believes best, en provides a few tips in case of evacuation: prevent the refugees from all running to the same side and panicking.
Van Zadel consults the captain of the Alemania once again. His opinion remains that there is no emergency, and refers again to the instructions from the MRCC.
December 5, 8:00 pm
Then it becomes too much for Van Zadel. He asks the MRCC in Rome for permission to carry out an evacuation. This he receives by email. The Erasmusgracht approaches slowly alongside the boat. The crew throws life-lines to the refugees. The rescue operation is completed within a half-hour, though not without a new source of exasperation, as men, women, and children just keep appearing out of the ship. Finally the Erasmusgracht counts 393 of them. “I asked the Alemania if she could also take a portion of the group”, says Van Zadel. “With a crew of fifteen we would have great difficulty with such a large group on board.” According to Van Zadel, the captain answered in the negative.
The German shipper tells it differently. “We didn’t refuse the request from the Erasmusgracht”, says the spokesman. “But in keeping with the instructions from the MRCC, we would honor the request only if there was a real emergency situation. This was made clear to the Erasmusgracht by the captain of the Alemania. Furthermore: it would be quite dangerous to carry out such an evacuation in the dark. The Dutch captain understood that, apparently. He said only: ‘Okay, we will carry on with the evacuation’.”
Van Zadel confirms this short answer. He says: “Given the earlier, non-committal attitude of the Alemania, I was already expecting that answer. So I kept it short, but felt that they had let me down.”
December 5, 9:50 pm
The rescue operation is officially over. After a discussion with the Italian authorities, the Erasmusgracht sets course for Catania, on Sicily, where there is an Italian shelter. The MRCC releases the Alemania from its responsibility as on-scene co-ordinator, “after thanking the captain”, emphasises the shipping company BBC. Later, the Erasmusgracht has contact with the Icelandic Coast Guard vessel Týr. Although Iceland is not a member of the EU, the country does take part in operation Triton from the EU border control agency Frontex. Four doctors from the Týr come on board for a first health examination of the refugees.
December 7, early morning
Once the refugees have disembarked in Catania and the Erasmusgracht has regained its balance, it resumes the journey to Poland. The costs for having the refugees on board – twenty kilos of rice, six jars of peanut butter, six cartons of cigarettes, records the log book, among other things – and for extra fuel must be covered by Spliethoff, up to a maximum of 6,000 dollars. The insurance will pay if the costs exceed that. The journey has suffered a delay of 26 hours, estimates Van Zadel. (extra fuel was 8,000 euro, typ)
December 17, 2014
A post appears on the website FFM Online, linked to Watch the Med, a group of volunteers who help refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. The headline, in German, reads: “German ship ignores pleas for help”.In the post, in English, Van Zadel and the shipping company Spliethoff suggest that the Germans were slack. Van Zadel: “I sent a clear request for help. The answer was: No thank you, do it yourself.” The post is noteworthy. Usually, not much information leaks out about rescue operations with a positive ending. According to Vincent de Jong from Watch the Med, refugees often tell stories about “commercial vessels which do little or nothing to help ships in distress”. David Hammond from the British volunteer organisation Human Rights at Sea, also active in the same area, confirms this. But it is often anecdotal evidence. “Nobody is interested in gathering ‘hard’ statistics.”
Friday, December 19
The report from Watch the Med elicits an irritated reaction from Director Jacobsen from the German shipping company BBC in Hamburg. He refuses to confirm anything and says: “Please call back on Monday.”
Monday, December 22
This newspaper receives a friendly email this Monday morning from Mark Clark van Navigate Response. This turns out to be a London bureau which specialises in crisis communication management in the shipping industry, according to their website. “We protect your reputation around the world, around the clock”, reads one of their promises. From that moment on would Clark act as the spokesman for the German company. Enclosed is a draft press release. The title: “Joint rescue operation. Owner of the German ship MV Alemania praised the crew of the Dutch ship Erasmusgracht for rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.” In the text, director Jacobsen praises the crew of the Alemania for acting “quickly and correctly” after “an emergency call-out from the Italian Coast Guard.”
When Spliethoff and Captain Van Zadel hear this, they can no longer contain themselves. Captain Van Zadel, who had initially avoided directly criticising his German colleagues, complains in a second interview with this newspaper about the “lack of helpfulness coming from the Alemania”. He says: “The Germans most probably thought: Just let the Dutch deal with this.”
Van Zadel says that he has changed his opinion about the stream of refugees to Europe. “I always used to think: they’ll just keep streaming in and we will have to provide for them. Thanks to the rescue operation I’ve made a switch. Now I think: those refugees deserve our full support.”
Shipping company BBC refused our request to speak to the captain of the Alemania. The MRCC in Rome and the Italian Coast Guard refused our attempts by telephone and in writing to request them to answer some questions.