'They jump overboard in despair': Ukrainian captain saved 27 migrants, but no port accepts them

The captain of the tanker Vladimir Eroshkin and his team of 21 people are now busy with only one thing - to prevent any of the 27 migrants they rescued a month ago from committing suicide, writes Air force.

Photo: video frame YouTube / The Shift News Info

Last week, one of the migrants threatened to throw himself into the sea, and on Sunday, September 6, three people went beyond words and actually threw themselves into the depths of the sea.

Thanks to the quick actions of the crew, they were again saved. But so far, no one knows how long they will have to stay on board and how many more incidents will arise.

The problem is that Eroshkin cannot find a port that would accept refugees from African countries (25 men, one woman and one child) on the tanker.

“We are standing still. Right now we don't have a destination port. Nobody agrees to accept these people,” Eroshkin, a Ukrainian by birth, said in an interview with the BBC. His ship "Maersk Etienne" is now located off the coast of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.

"We can't go anywhere"

Eroshkin says the situation has become critical because his ship is not designed to carry passengers, and the crew did not participate in rescue operations. In addition, there are no people in the team who can provide qualified medical care.

“Every day people are increasingly overcome by despair. We are doing everything in our power to ensure safety and hygiene conditions,” he assured.

This is the third and longest this year in the Mediterranean that a commercial vessel has not been allowed into any port. Other incidents were resolved within a week.

“These people are not given the right to go ashore. The ship is paralyzed and cannot go anywhere,” the captain laments.

Four years ago, at the height of the migration crisis, hundreds of people died in the water, and everything was completely different.

At that time, Eroshkin's ship was in the Mediterranean Sea, and the captain decided to deviate from the course in order to save hundreds of migrants.

“My ship picked up 353 people from the sea. 24 hours later they went ashore in Italy,” he said.

For hundreds of years, sailors have been rescuing people at sea, and, according to the international maritime convention, the rescued must be received at the nearest port.

This is exactly what Eroshkin is trying to do, but neither Malta nor Italy want to accept illegal migrants.

On the subject: They tried to help, and now they face prison: stories of volunteers who saved immigrants

SOS signal

It all started a month ago when the tanker Maersk Etienne left Genoa without cargo and headed to Tunisia.

On 4 August, Eroshkin received a message from the Rescue Coordination Center in Malta asking him to contact him.

The day before, the charity AlarmPhone had notified the Maltese authorities that a distress signal had been received from a boat that departed Libya on August 2 with 27 migrants.

“According to the rules, you must then contact another nearby vessel. But we were unable to establish contact,” explained Eroshkin.

Why it was not possible to establish contact with another vessel is unclear.

“After this, we received a clear instruction from the rescue coordination center to change the route and go to the place from where the SOS signal was received.”

It was almost 10 nautical miles from the tanker. About an hour later, the crew saw a small wooden boat painted blue.

“When I noticed a boat with people, I felt relieved. And when people saw the big ship, they started waving at us,” the captain recalls.

The tanker was positioned to protect the boat from waves and wind.

“The little boat was crowded with people. They sat on it shoulder to shoulder,” he continued the story.

Uneasy salvation

The boat really was tiny - seven meters long and two meters wide.

The migrants were given food and water, but Eroshkin hoped that a rescue vessel would take them.

Night fell, the wind intensified, and the waves grew higher. Water was being drawn into the boat. After 12 hours, no one was in a hurry to help, and the crew decided to take the migrants on board the tanker.

The deck was nine meters higher than the waves, and the length of the outer ladder was not enough. Then it was decided to tie a rope ladder to it.

“Climbing a few meters up a rope ladder and then up an outdoor ladder requires good physical fitness and preparation. We asked people who were exhausted and dehydrated to do this,” Eroshkin said.

All 27 people in the boat, including a 15-year-old teenager and a woman, managed to get on board. The woman said she was 12 weeks pregnant.

“We lowered the safety harness for her to prevent her from falling into the water. We were very concerned about her psychological and physical condition,” the captain added.

Proud of the lives saved

The migrants come from different countries in Africa, and it was difficult for some to communicate with the tanker crew because they did not know English. No one was injured.

“We asked them how long they had been at sea. Someone said two days, and someone said three.”

Soon the weather conditions worsened, and one of the waves drowned the boat. The tanker crew realized that they had just saved 27 people from death.

“This thought filled us with pride,” stated Eroshkin.

Many pipes

The next difficult task was to choose a place on the tanker where the migrants could be located.

“We have a lot of pipes on deck. They are dangerous for untrained people."

The migrants found a place in the bow of the ship, where there is a toilet.

“We are unable to provide them with decent or even bearable living conditions. We got mattresses and blankets for them from the hold,” the captain said.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Eroshkin limited the number of crew members who contact the rescued. This is due to the lack of personal protective equipment.

Photo: video frame YouTube / Noel Jabay Jr

An agonizing wait

Recently, another Maersk ship replenished the tanker with food, and now two chefs can provide food for everyone on the ship.

But the long wait is exhausting both the ship's crew and the migrants, who recorded a video message to the European Union asking for help.

In the meantime, the captain and his crew are doing everything in their power to keep people from being discouraged. The migrants wrote a letter of gratitude, which moved the crew members to tears.

The captain was morally supported by his family.

“My eldest daughter is very proud of me, my action impressed her. She is very young - she is 15 years old,” said Eroshkin.

Maritime law

The 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea states that any ship must immediately come to the aid of people in distress.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), which took part in the creation of the convention, instructs the countries participating in it to do everything necessary so that the rescued people can go ashore as soon as possible in a safe place.

This did not happen in the case of the tanker Maersk Etienne.

On the subject: Migrants in the Mediterranean seized the tanker that saved them

Salvation becomes a crime

Five years after the migrant crisis, hundreds of people continue to die in the Mediterranean. According to IMO data, 2020 migrants drowned in the first eight months of 554.

In 2015, over the same period, 3030 people are believed to have drowned.

Rescue organizations have said more people will die if Mediterranean countries do not follow the laws.

“Because of unfriendly European migration policies that try to stop and criminalize rescues at sea, cargo ships sometimes avoid and ignore disasters,” says Felix Weiss of Sea-Watch.

More than 300 people have been rescued by cargo ships in the Mediterranean this year, he said.

Come to the rescue again

The company Maersk, which owns the tanker, calls for an end to the confrontation. The UN Commissariat for Refugees has asked the EU to allow migrants to go ashore. The vessel is still in the territorial waters of Malta.

The authorities of the island state did not respond to the BBC's request for comment, but earlier in the media there were words of officials that the ship should go to Denmark, where it is registered.

In the meantime, Eroshkin is optimistic and intends to go all the way.

“This is not just a manifestation of human attitude, it is an ancient maritime tradition. If something like this happens again, we will come to the rescue again,” assured Captain Eroshkin.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How the Trump team limited U.S. immigration: a rundown of a huge analysis

One small change in legislation could legalize millions of illegal immigrants in the USA

Rising Homelessness and Hunger Threats: US Tightens Rules for Asylum Seekers

She takes refuge in a church and sculpts dumplings: how an immigrant from Russia saves herself from deportation to the USA

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.