Wednesday, October 9, 2024

At 3:00 PM, the Mare Jonio, the ship operated by Mediterranea Saving Humans, departs from the port of Trapani for Mission 19 of search and rescue in the central Mediterranean, despite an order from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport which had required the ship to unload all rescue equipment on board.

This departure came unexpectedly after a surprise inspection on September 17, ordered without justification by the Ministry, ended with the order to remove all rescue equipment from the aft deck. This included containers intended for rescued persons, the medical unit, chemical toilets, showers, and the two fast RIB boats.

If the Mare Jonio had failed to comply, authorities threatened to revoke its Certificate of Seaworthiness—essential for navigation.

“This is a completely illegitimate order,” said Alessandro Metz, the ship’s owner and spokesperson for Mediterranea. “Its real goal is to stop the Mare Jonio once and for all. We’ve activated our legal team and are challenging this unjust order at all levels, but we cannot suspend our work while waiting for a court ruling.”

“That’s why,” explained Sheila Melosu, head of mission on board, “we complied by offloading the specified equipment in order to set sail anyway, to return where the Mare Jonio’s presence can make a difference. We are ready to respond to emergencies and rescue people if needed. It's not the equipment but the people who save lives—humans rescuing other humans, obeying the law of the sea and international law.”

“It’s especially significant,” said Laura Marmorale, president of Mediterranea, “that Mare Jonio sails again just as the current government’s authoritarian decrees (so-called 'Security' and 'Flows') strike both citizens' rights and the Civil Fleet. This mission is possible thanks to support from Flai CGIL, a union active in the fight against exploitation in agriculture.”

Mission 19 is dedicated to the memory of Giacomo Gobbato, an activist from the Rivolta social center who was fatally stabbed in Mestre on September 20 while defending a woman during a robbery. The ship now bears the inscription:

“With Jack. We will never look the other way.”

Thursday, October 10 & Friday, October 11

Upon arriving in the operational area south of Lampedusa, the Mare Jonio searched for three hours for a wooden boat with ~45 people, alerted by Alarm Phone and Seabird aircraft. The people onboard were panicked and reported that water was entering the hull. At 1:55 PM, the Italian Coast Guard confirmed that the people had been rescued and would disembark in Lampedusa. The Mare Jonio resumed southward navigation.

Despite unstable weather, there had already been seven autonomous arrivals with 187 people landing that morning in Lampedusa.

Later, Frontex and Alarm Phone reported a rubber boat with 75–110 people in the Libyan SAR zone. The engine was still running; they were moving north at 4 knots. Although a storm was forecast with strong winds and 2-meter waves, Mare Jonio proceeded. Around 4:30 PM, Seabird witnessed the boat being intercepted and captured by Libya’s notorious SSA militia.

With no further distress calls, and heavy-hearted over another forced return, Mare Jonio turned back toward Lampedusa to shelter from the incoming storm. Before docking, they monitored another case—a fiberglass boat with ~40 people—which the Italian Coast Guard later confirmed rescuing.

Saturday, October 12 & Sunday, October 13

At 7:45 AM Saturday, Mare Jonio resumed patrol in the Libyan SAR zone, west of Tripoli near the Tunisian border, 30–40 nautical miles offshore.

That afternoon, Frontex aircraft Osprey 2 reported 40 people on a distressed iron boat 34 miles southwest of Lampedusa. Mare Jonio, about 100 miles away, could not reach them in time. The distress call was broadcast, and all persons were later rescued and disembarked in Lampedusa.

Monday, October 14

Around 5:00 AM, Mare Jonio rescued 58 people in international waters in Tunisia’s SAR zone. They had fled Libya, were adrift for 22 hours with no food, water, or functioning engine.

At 2:27 AM, Alarm Phone had informed authorities of another boat in distress (56 people), out of fuel, with a broken engine. By 4:10 AM, Mare Jonio found the vessel and confirmed it was unseaworthy: overcrowded, no safety equipment, no capable crew, and immediate risk of capsizing. They distributed life jackets and began rescue.

By 6:03 AM, they had rescued all 58 people, including one unaccompanied minor, and requested a port of safety.

At 12:00 PM, they encountered a second boat—25 people adrift in a deflating dinghy 25 miles southwest of Lampedusa. The Coast Guard was alerted but asked Mare Jonio to standby. Given the dire condition, Mare Jonio launched their rescue boat and stabilized the situation until Coast Guard boat CP281 arrived. Passengers received food and water and were safely transferred.

At 1:06 PM, the Italian Coast Guard assigned Naples as the port for disembarkation. Given the 360-nautical-mile journey (45 hours at 8 knots), Mare Jonio objected due to the survivors’ fragile condition. After 9 hours of back-and-forth with authorities, Porto Empedocle (Sicily) was assigned at 10:21 PM.

Tuesday, October 15 – 09:00 AM

Mare Jonio rejected the distant port of Naples, and the 58 rescued people disembarked safely in Porto Empedocle.

At 8:01 AM, Mare Jonio submitted a medical report to aid post-rescue care. Survivors had fled Libya the night of Friday to Saturday, spent 22 hours adrift, and were in serious condition. Many were trauma survivors from Libyan prisons.

“Some had injuries to their hands (No. 19 and 17: right thumb injuries). No. 40 had a dental infection requiring care.”

Image: Disembarkation in Porto Empedocle

By late morning, all 58 had safely disembarked—saved from death at sea, from violence in Libya, from deportation by Italy’s military vessel Libra, and from being sent to distant ports.

At 7:00 PM, the Mare Jonio’s captain and owner were summoned by the Port Authority and fined €4,000. The ship was also administratively detained for 20 days.

“For the third time,” said President Laura Marmorale, “Mare Jonio is punished under the Piantedosi decree after rescuing lives. This time, the accusation is carrying out rescue operations without the flag state's authorization. This is a baseless and persecutory claim. To Minister Piantedosi and Prime Minister Meloni, I say this: saving lives at sea is both an ethical duty and a legal obligation. We will remain human.”

The government punishes us because we insist on saving people abandoned at sea—people whose locations are always known to authorities. These systematic omissions of rescue are part of Italy’s policy to repel asylum seekers and migrants. This criminal political will has led to thousands of deaths, as seen in the Cutro shipwreck investigation. If a ship can save a life, it must act. They let people die—we save them. We won’t stop, no matter the cost.

With Mission #19, Mediterranea Saving Humans has rescued 1,290 people since October 2018—609 of them in the last year alone (Oct 2023–Oct 2024).