Dear friends of Sea-Eye,
we have some good news: SEA-EYE 4 managed to bring all 51 rescued people safely to land over the weekend. In port, however, we faced another attempt by the Italian authorities to detain our vessel: But thanks to excellent preparation, we were able to avert this!
With dedication and humanity – that is how more than 100 local rescue workers and numerous ambulances welcomed our guests in the port of Brindisi, for which we are very grateful. For almost two days, we sailed the Mediterranean on Italian orders to bring the rescued to safety. Therefore, we were all the more relieved to finally know that they were safe and well looked after by the local emergency services.
But our joy was short-lived: That same evening, the harbour master of Brindisi announced a port state control by the Italian Coast Guard. In recent years, such port state controls have repeatedly led to the detention of sea rescue ships.
On Saturday morning, at around 9 o'clock, two inspectors of the Italian coastguard boarded the ship. We were in for an unparalleled intensive inspection. The crew had to demonstrate several drills. These included abandoning the ship in an acute emergency and fire-fighting training.
The following were also inspected:
- the technical and nautical equipment
- the ship's certificates
- the crew's employment contracts
- the crew's quarters
- the accommodation for survivors
- the shipboard hospital and engine room
Highly focused, our crew answered all the questions, presented all the documents, followed all the instructions – for nine hours (!) in total.
Then we got the relieving news: all the technical work in the shipyard, all the operational training, all the logistical and legal preparations had paid off! The inspectors did not find any reason to detain the vessel during this extremely intensive inspection. The Italian Coast Guard has thus vindicated us: Our vessel operates in accordance with international regulations! We are proud of our crew and our technical department.
Then we could not be delayed any longer! With the good news on board, we headed straight back to the area of operations on Sunday. We are now happy to make the official announcement: The SEA-EYE 4 remains free – and is on its way to save lives again!
Yours
Gorden Isler
- Chairman of Sea-Eye e. V.