MOAS Saves Over 300 Refugees

Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) successfully coordinated two rescues at sea on Saturday, under the guidance of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre of Rome.

In the morning, MOAS was directed by MRCC Rome to a vessel in distress: a wooden fishing boat carrying 227 Syrians and Palestinians. The group consisted of 130 men, 40 women and 57 children, including many infants.

The migrants were taken on board Phoenix and given first aid. They were kept there overnight until being transferred to an Italian boat on Sunday morning.

At the same time, MOAS spotted another migrant boat, this time a rubber dinghy carrying 96 men from sub-Saharan Africa. MOAS was given on­scene command by RCC Rome, meaning that MOAS was responsible for coordinating other boats to ensure the rescue went smoothly.

Besides providing water and life­jackets, MOAS coordinated with US warship Samuel B. Roberts and two merchant vessels. The US navy assisted by providing a RHIB (rigid­hulled inflatable boat) to enable the transportation of the men who were safely transferred to the commercial ship Bourbon Orca.

No lives were lost during the two rescues. The migrants had no serious injuries or illness except for a child with special needs who needed insulin and several pregnant women. Italian navy ship Chimera provided insulin and a doctor. 

The rescued migrants were then transferred onto Italian navy ship San Giusto to be disembarked in Italy so that MOAS could continue on its mission to save lives at sea. 

MOAS founder Christopher Catrambone, who is on Phoenix to participate in the mission, said: “The MOAS team executed its first big rescues very professionally today. We are very proud to have been given on­scene command by the Italian authorities and we look forward to working closely together again to prevent more tragedies at sea.”

MRCC Rome described MOAS as an “important reference and assistance point” and promised to continue working closely with the NGO in the future. MOAS, a privately­funded humanitarian initiative consists of a 40m ship, Phoenix, conducted by a professional crew of rescuers, seafarers, paramedics and humanitarians. The vessel is also equipped with two Schiebel remote piloted aircraft (CAMCOPTER S­100) which can monitor the seas from the sky and provide real­time intelligence to MOAS and the Rescue Coordination Centres of Malta and Italy.

MOAS will spend 60 days at sea this summer, divided into various missions.