Mediterranean Sea #7

Diario di bordo

At 8.35 this morning, the Mare Jonio completed the rescue of around one hundred people, including 26 women, at least eight of whom were pregnant, 22 children under the age of 10, and at least another six minors.
We spotted their dinghy, overcrowded, adrift and with one tube already deflated with our radar, and fortunately arrived in time to bring rescue. The people are all safe on board with us, there are cases of hypothermia and some of them have obvious signs of the mistreatment and torture they suffered in Libya.
They are all fleeing from hell.

We now await instructions from the Italian Maritime Coordination Centre, which we referred to while the rescue was still in progress, as our flagship MRCC.

UPDATE 11:30AM

To our request for instructions, MRCC ITA (Italian Maritime Coordination Centre) replied as always to refer us to the 'Libyan authorities'.

We replied that it would be impossible for us to refer to the force of a country in civil war where torture and inhuman and degrading treatment are carried out every day, with respect to the fate of the people rescued, now on board a ship flying the Italian flag, and whose safety and security are our responsibility.

We have therefore reiterated to Italy our request for instructions compatible with the international law of the sea and human rights.