European and global shipowner groups and seafarer unions have banded
together to urge EU Member States to take immediate action to address
the growing humanitarian crisis in the Mediterranean Sea.
Since 2014, hundreds of thousands of migrants have crossed the
Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe in overcrowded, unseaworthy boats,
resulting in the loss of thousands of lives.
In a joint letter to leaders of all 28 EU Members States, the
European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA), the European
Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the International Chamber of
Shipping (ICS) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF)
have warned that the crisis is spiraling out of control, and that we
can expect further catastrophic loss of life unless EU Member States
respond with greater urgency.
The shipowner groups and unions are calling on all EU Member States
to give immediate priority to increasing resources for Search and Rescue
operations, in view of the very large number of potentially dangerous
rescues now being conducted by merchant ships.
According to a joint statement about the letter, in 2014 merchant
ships rescued around 40,000 people, with the number expected to increase
dramatically. While the shipping industry fully accepts its legal
responsibility to rescue anyone in distress at sea, the industry argues
that it is unacceptable that the international community increasingly
relies on merchant ships and their crews to undertake more and more
large-scale rescues. Single ships have had to rescue as many as 500
people at a time, creating serious risks to the health and welfare of
seafarers who are unprepared and untrained to take on such rescues, the
statement said.
While the shipowners recognize that navies and coastguards of those
EU Member States on the front lines have made impressive efforts to
respond, the situation continues to get worse. The shipping industry
believes there must be a commensurate increase in State funded resources
for Search and Rescue operations, meaning that all EU Member States
need to share the financial burden.
The shipping industry also suggests that the EU and the international
community need to provide refugees and migrants with alternative means
of finding safety, without risking their lives by crossing the
Mediterranean in unseaworthy boats.
The shipping industry says that the development of solutions to this
crisis must be treated as an absolute priority as “it is literally a
matter of life and death”. The shipowners’ representatives and unions
are therefore requesting that this issue should be added, as a matter of
real urgency, to the agenda of the European Council and relevant
meetings of EU Ministers.