FGS SCHLESWIG HOLSTEIN and HMS ENTERPRISE carried out rescue at sea
On the 19 of September early in the morning, three EUNAVFOR MED assets, the German ship SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN and British ship ENTERPRISE, cued by the UK Merlin helicopter, conducted a coordinated rescue operation on 3 different vessels, saving 767 souls in distress at sea, under the coordination of the international maritime rescue coordination center (IMRCC) in Rome.
The distress situations were all related to the migratory flows afflicting Northern Libya. FGS SCHLESWIG-HOLSTEIN rescued 389 migrants on board a wooden boat and a rubber boat (dinghy). HMS ENTERPRISE rescued 378 migrants on a wooden vessel; all of them 20 mn north of the city of Zuwarah. Italians helicopters from Mare Sicuro operation provided also support to the ships.
The migrants were then transferred to the port of Palermo while the empty wooden boats have been taken in charge by Mare Sicuro naval units.
“EUNAVFOR Med” was launched on the 22 of June, 2015 by the Council the EU naval operation with the aim of countering the activities of human smugglers and traffickers in the Mediterranean. At the same time, the UNCLOS, SOLAS and SAR Conventions, as well as the moral sense belonging to any sailor, include the duty of saving lives at sea.
In the first three months the “EUNAVFOR Med” ships have already been involved in several rescue activities contributing to save the life of more than 2200 migrants.