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Italy Rescues Hundreds of Migrants on Freighter Abandoned by Crew Italy Rescues Hundreds of Migrants on Freighter Abandoned by Crew
(35 minutes later)
For the second time in three days, the Italian authorities scrambled on Friday to rescue hundreds of migrants aboard an aging freighter in rough seas near the Italian mainland after its crew abandoned it. VERBANIA, Italy — For the second time in three days, the Italian authorities found themselves racing on Friday to rescue hundreds of migrants from an aging freighter that traffickers had pointed toward Italy and then abandoned, leaving the ship to plow through wintry seas at top speed with no one at the helm, on a collision course with the coastline.
The use of larger vessels seems to mark a new tactic by traffickers in the Mediterranean, seeking ever greater profits from people desperate to flee war zones, chaos and repressive regimes and prepared to pay thousands a dollars each to do so. Rescuers were able to board the ship only after it stopped, perhaps because it ran out of fuel, and by afternoon they were towing it toward shore. But the episode led officials to suggest that traffickers have hit on a new tactic to extract ever greater profits from human misery while eluding apprehension.
“We are aware of at least four incidents in the last two months where people smugglers cram hundreds of migrants and refugees in big cargo boats and then send them uncrewed in the direction of Italy,” said William Spindler, a spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency. The latest drama came as the Ezadeen, a 50-year-old livestock carrier sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone, headed for the coast of southeastern Italy, in the eastern Mediterranean, with an estimated 450 people on board. There were reports that after six days at sea, the migrants, including pregnant women and dozens of children, had exhausted the supplies of food, water and milk on board, and that the ship might also have run out of fuel.
“In the past they did exactly the same thing with smaller vessels like fishing vessels and dinghies,” he told BBC radio. “But it seems now they are going for bigger boats like cargo boasts,” and “the money involved is huge.” “When we called the ship to ask about its status, a migrant woman responded, saying, ‘We are alone, and we have no one to help us,’ ” said Cmdr. Filippo Marini, an Italian Coast Guard spokesman. He said the ship, which departed from a Turkish port, had been left on autopilot. Paramedics reported that the migrants, most of whom were believed to be Syrian, were in good health, he added.
The danger, he said, was that, with no one at the tiller, the vessels could “crash against the coast, and many lives will be lost.” Until recently, migrants coming to Italy by sea arrived primarily in smaller boats that sailed north from North Africa. The shift to steel-hulled cargo ships approaching from the east denotes a new strategy, an Italian naval official said, and traffickers are “secure in the knowledge that no one is going to allow a boat to crash on Italian or Greek shores.”
The latest drama came in high seas and adverse weather as the Ezadeen, a 50-year-old livestock carrier sailing under the flag of Sierra Leone, headed for the coast of southeastern Italy with 450 people on board — the second such eipisode in a week. Some reports said it had run out of fuel, along with supplies of food, water and milk for migrants who included pregnant women and dozens of children. In record numbers, fugitives from war zones, failed states or repressive regimes routinely pay up to $6,000 each for a chance to fulfill dreams of security and new lives in Europe, braving not only rough seas and capricious journeys but also a groundswell of hostility toward immigrants across the Continent.
“When we hailed the ship to ask about its status, a migrant woman responded, saying, ‘We are alone, and we have no one to help us,’ ” said Cmdr. Filippo Marini, an Italian Coast Guard spokesman, according to Reuters. “The money involved is huge,” said William Spindler, a spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency.
Abandoned by its crew, the vessel had been put on a collision course for the Italian coast but then ran out of fuel, he was quoted as saying. The first rescue vessel to come to the aid of the stricken Ezadeen was an Icelandic patrol boat sailing as part of a program coordinated by Frontex, the European border agency. But the seas were too rough for rescuers to cross from one vessel to the other, and an Italian helicopter was called in to airlift coast guard officials onto the boat.
The first rescue vessel to come to the aid of the stricken Ezadeen was an Icelandic patrol boat sailing as part of a program coordinated by Frontex, the European border agency. But the seas were too rough for rescuers to cross from one vessel to the other, and an Italian helicopter was called in. After several hours of effort, and after the 240-foot Ezadeen had run out of fuel, the Icelandic Coast Guard ship took it under tow, Commander Marini said.
“Because of the difficult weather conditions, the ship can only be boarded from the air,” the Italian Air Force said in a statement. Some analysts said that the change in the traffickers’ tactics had occurred since Italy phased out an ambitious and costly search-and-rescue operation called Mare Nostrum, which located and rescued dozens of smaller boats used by migrants. That program has been replaced by one called Triton, which involves 19 nations and is coordinated by Frontex.
After several hours of effort in rough seas, the Icelandic Coast Guard ship took the Ezadeen under tow, Commander Marini said. In the past, traffickers in North Africa loaded migrants onto smaller vessels that are relatively easy to operate, said Izabella Cooper, a spokeswoman for Frontex. “But a freighter needs specialized skills; it’s a far more dangerous situation,” she said. The ship was headed for Italy at full speed when it was detected Thursday night, she added.
Children and pregnant women were among the migrants, most of whom were believed to be Syrian, Commander Marini told The Associated Press. Other Italian officials said the vessel had apparently run out of food and water and had been at sea for up to six days, its passage slowed by bad weather. Carlotta Sami, a spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency, told Reuters that over the past two months, smugglers were increasingly using old cargo ships ready to be dismantled. “They usually don’t even have any electronic equipment on board,” she said. The smugglers are using bigger ships because the end of the Mare Nostrum program makes crossing in smaller boats much more risky, she added.
Some analysts said that the change in the traffickers’ tactics had occurred since Italy phased out an ambitious and costly search-and-rescue operation called Mare Nostrum, which located and rescued dozens of smaller boats used by migrants. That program covered a much wider area of the Mediterranean than the replacement coordinated by Frontex. In a posting on Twitter on Friday, the Italian Coast Guard said the vessel was being towed toward the coastal town of Corigliano Calabro. It is expected to arrive there in the late evening.
In a posting on Twitter, the Italian Coast Guard said the vessel was being towed in toward the coastal town of Corigliano Calabro. It was expected to arrive there around midnight local time. Antonio Saccone, an analyst at Frontex, said the use of bigger ships “shows how powerful and sophisticated the smuggling networks have become.”
The 240-foot-long vessel had apparently veered off its original stated course to southern France from the island of Cyprus, according to Agence France-Presse. Other reports said it had initially set sail from the Syrian port of Tartus or from Turkey. By Italian accounts, each journey of a big steel-hulled vessel carrying hundreds of migrants could yield smugglers up to $1 million. “It’s a precious cargo, and even after factoring in costs, it’s clearly an effective system,” said an Italian Navy official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under institutional protocols.
With record numbers of migrants heading toward Italy, the rescue unfolded just days after the Italian authorities boarded a freighter, the Moldovan-registered Blue Sky M, carrying more than 700 people, many of them fleeing Syria’s civil war. That vessel also seemed to have been abandoned by its crew after setting out from Turkey. The latest rescue unfolded just days after the Italian authorities boarded a freighter, the Moldovan-registered Blue Sky M, carrying more than 700 people, many of them fleeing Syria’s civil war. That vessel was also abandoned by its crew after setting out from Turkey.
Italian officers were lowered onto the Blue Sky M to bring it under control and to prevent it from crashing into the rocky coastline. But the two vessels rescued this week were only the latest among at least 15 others that have left the coast of Turkey since the end of September, said Adm. Giovanni Pettorino of the Italian Coast Guard. “We’re very concerned about the practice of abandoning the migrants at sea,” he said.
Last month, the United Nations refugee agency said that over 200,000 refugees and migrants had arrived in European countries in 2014, compared with 60,000 in 2013. A large majority of them — 160,000 — were seeking refuge in Italy. Almost half the migrants were citizens of Syria and Eritrea, in the Horn of Africa. Last month, the United Nations refugee agency said that over 200,000 refugees and migrants had arrived in European countries in 2014, compared with 60,000 in 2013. A large majority of them — 160,000 — arrived in Italy by sea. Almost half the migrants were citizens of Syria and Eritrea, in the Horn of Africa.
Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, quoted migrants rescued earlier this week aboard the Blue Sky M as saying that the ship had set sail from Turkey.
Typically, migrants said they were put on small wooden boats and rowed to larger vessels at sea.
“It’s worrisome, because this new route seems to have very well-organized traffickers,” Mr. Di Giacomo said. “And if they manage to make a lot of money, they’ll be able to buy other ships.
“Mare Nostrum may have ended, but migrants keep coming,” Mr. Di Giacomo said. “The reason people come is because their countries are in crisis.”