The Trotamar III is currently between the Tunisian and Maltese SAR zones. Since yesterday, we have been accompanying the merchant vessel Port Fukuoka, which is in a difficult situation after a rescue.

On Monday, the airplane Seabird 2 of the organisation Sea-Watch e.V. and Humanitarian Pilote Initiative spotted an overcrowded iron boat on the Mediterranean. The crew of the freighter rescued over 90 people from this sinking boat, all of them fell into the water. The sad result after the rescue: two dead children, one person was missing.

Since then, the freighter has been waiting for instructions from the rescue coordination centers. The social situation on board is becoming increasingly tense. There are also one pregnant and two heavily pregnant women on board, one of whom has already had her water break. The crew of the freighter feels overwhelmed by the situation but receives no support from the authorities. Unfortunately, this is just another unbelievable deliberate failure on the part of the authorities – at the expense of the people who have just survived a shipwreck. The freighter urgently needs to be assigned a Place of Safety!

We have already offered the captain of the freighter medical assistance. Until further notice we will now remain in the vicinity to monitor the situation.