Over 500 Libyan Refugees Rescued off Italy near Lampedusa Island

In April we posted about the sinking of an overloaded fishing boat carrying Libyan refugees where over 200 drowned.   Today it was reported that another overloaded refugee boat in the roughly the same area sank with over 500 people aboard. Fortunately, the Italian … Continue reading

“Hasan Reis” sinks, 22 Afghan immigrants die near Corfu

Grim news.  Late Saturday night, the wooden vessel  Hasan Reis in the Mediterranean, carrying over 260 passengers, reported to be illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, began to leak in heavy seas and subsequently sank.  The Dutch ship Momentum Scan rescued the survivors … Continue reading

Update: Ship Tracking Casts Doubt on Coastguard’s Account of Boat Disaster Off Greece

We recently posted about an overloaded fishing boat carrying migrants that capsized and sank early on Wednesday morning in deep waters about 50 miles (80 km) from the southern Greek coastal town of Pylos. The BBC reports on evidence casting … Continue reading

Overloaded Migrant Boat Sinks Near Greece — at Least 78 Dead, Hundreds Feared Drowned

Reuters reports that rescuers scoured the seas off Greece on Thursday following a shipwreck that killed at least 78 migrants, as hopes of survivors dwindled and fears grew that hundreds more, including children, may have drowned inside the crowded vessel’s … Continue reading

Update: Migrant Death Ships — 900 More Die on Sunday

The migrant crisis in the Mediterranean continues to grow more grave. Last week, we posted about the drowning of 400 migrants in an overloaded ship which capsized not long after leaving port in Libya bound for Italy.  On Sunday, a larger ship … Continue reading

Blue Sky M — Abandoned Migrant Ship on Autopilot

Straight from rescue operations on the ro/ro ferry Norman Atlantic, the Italian navy and coast guard rushed to intercept the Blue Sky M, a 3,500 DWT Moldavian freighter, which was reported to be carrying 700–1,000 migrants.  A distress call had been received … Continue reading

Italian Navy’s Operation Mare Nostrum Rescues 4,000 Refugees

Yesterday, we posted about Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), a privately funded operation to assist refugees in trouble attempting to cross the Mediterranean. While we obviously wish them well, a recent report reminded us again of the scope of the refugee … Continue reading

RV Atlantis Rescues 93 Egyptians from Fishing Trawler in the Mediterranean

Last Friday night, only twelve hours into a 15 day Mediterranean voyage, the research vessel Atlantis received a mayday call, relayed by the Greek Coast Guard reporting a fishing boat in distress about 40 miles away, near the island of … Continue reading