On Saturday afternoon, our crew discovered a boat in distress: 46 people on an overcrowded wooden boat. Without life jackets, the people were crammed into the boat, which had already taken on water.
As quickly as possible, our crew distributed life jackets to all the people and sent out a distress call for the migrant vessel. The escape boat’s engine failed several times. Our crew accompanied the boat for several hours and provided the people with drinking water and food.
After nightfall, a speedboat from the Italian coastguard finally arrived and took all the people on board. The Trotamar III was then ordered to Lampedusa – which is not usual if the crew has not taken any people on board. This prevented us from coming to the aid of other people in distress at sea for a whole day.
The Trotamar III was able to leave the port of Lampedusa again late Sunday afternoon and is currently back in the area of operation to keep an eye out for people in distress at sea.