Slovenian ship rescued 237 refugees after 13 days at the mercy of the sea

Currently they are sailing towards Italy

2. september 2014 ob 18.29 • Koper - MMC RTV SLO

Almost 250 people were crowded on the little boat. Foto: Splošna plovba

Novo mesto, a ship from the Portorož Splošna plovba fleet, on Monday afternoon rescued 237 refugees from a vessel left at the mercy of the Mediterranean Sea. They have been trapped on the vessel for 13 days, ever since the crew abandoned ship.

Approximately 150 miles southeast of Malta Novo mesto encountered a fishing boat with 237 migrants from Libya, Syria, Egypt, Somalia, and some other African countries. 40 women and 9 children were among the refugees.

The crew took the refugees on board, and currently they are sailing towards the port of Catania on Sicily, where the refugees will be turned over to the Italian authorities. Water and food was provided for the migrants, and the children settled in two berths.

"Since the refugees are coming from Africa, immediately the concern was raised regarding the danger of ebola infection. All our ships have instructions on precautions for prevention of this disease. Those members of the crew who are and will continue to be in contact with the migrants wear protective masks, but we estimate there is no great risk, as the migrants are coming from those African regions which are contagion free," said the president of the Splošna plovba board Egon Bandelj for TV Slovenija.

Crew abandoned ship after engine failure
According to the captain of the ship, all the refugees are healthy, although some of them are in a shock, Eugenija Carl reported, and added that the migrants have been trapped on the fishing boat for 13 whole days. The people-smugglers abandoned the ship after engine failure, and left the passengers to their fate.

The rescue mission was accomplished with the cooperation of the Malta Rescue Co-ordination Centre RCC. "Our ship received the appeal of the Maltese authorities, as we were the closest. The Maltese authorities had found the boat," said the president of the Splošna plovba board Egon Bandelj for Radio Koper.

"The rescue mission took place on the calm sea. The scenario would have been quite different for such a boat with so many people aboard in case of rough sea, storm, and strong wind. We believe it would have certainly overturned," continued Bandelj. It was the first intervention of this kind for Splošna plovba, the first time their help was needed in rescuing refugees in the Mediterranean Sea.

In the morning a Swedish ship Aniara sailed into Catania, carrying aboard 233 refugees they have saved from the sea.