Shipping’s forgotten crisis could get worse

The Mediterranean Sea is the main economic artery facilitating the movement of cargo to and from Europe and Asia. It is the route used by the thousands of container ships that keep world trade networks humming.

It also happens to be – especially in the area between Libya and Italy – the precarious route taken by thousands of migrants hoping for a new life in Europe. This situation has existed for nearly a decade, but a related political debate in Europe has intensified in recent weeks.

A new report by the non-governmental organisation (NGO) hotline Alarm Phone noted an increase in crossings and distress alerts from the Mediterranean in 2022, “despite ongoing deterrence efforts, including increased cooperation among European countries, the Tunisian authorities and the Libyan Coast Guard, as well as new strategies to obstruct the work of search-and-rescue organisations”.

The NGO notes that about 105,000 people arrived in Europe through the central Mediterranean route in 2022, a considerable increase from the 67,500 people who arrived in 2021, the 34,000 in 2020, and the 11,500 in 2019.

Alarm Phone says it was alerted to 673 boats in distress in the central Mediterranean last year – up from 27 distress cases in 2018, 101 in 2019, 173 in 2020, and 407 in 2021. It has been only a month into this new year, and already at least 30 people have died crossing the Mediterranean.

There are many NGOs, including several that operate vessels, dedicated to rescuing migrants in difficulties in their typically grossly-overcrowded inflatable boats. However, these rescue missions have increasingly become the target of restrictions by governments, especially Italy’s.

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Commercial vessels operating their normal routes through the area are also involved in rescuing migrants in distress. That is because, apart from the human instinct to save those in danger, ships’ masters are obliged by international law to help those in distress.

As the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) says on its website, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Safety of Life at Sea (Solas) Convention stipulates that ships have a legal obligation to come to the aid of anyone in distress at sea.

The ICS added in comments written a few years ago: “The principal obligation of shipowners is humanitarian, and ICS continues to promote the use of the industry Guidelines for Large-Scale Rescue Operations, whose development was led by ICS as a direct response to the terrible situation in the Mediterranean.

“However, the primary interest of the ICS is that port states will continue to adhere to their legal obligation, under international law, to provide prompt and predictable disembarkation of rescued people as soon as possible.”

John Stawpert, ICS’ senior manager for environment and trade, told The Business Times: “Merchant ships continue to rescue people in distress on these routes, and are also called on by rescue coordination centres to oversee vessels in distress and undertake rescues. Given the importance of this assistance in the protection of life at sea, it is essential that international law is respected, that coastal states and the coordinators of rescues meet their obligations without delay to facilitate shipowners’ rescue of persons, and that seafarers are not criminalised for fulfilling legal and humanitarian obligations.”

His comment came in the context of the controversial move by Italy’s new right-wing government to fine charities who rescue migrants at sea, and to impound their ships if they break a new, tougher set of rules.

Reuters reported that a decree signed by the country’s president on Jan 2 requires these ships to request a port and sail to it “without delay” after a rescue, rather than remain at sea looking for other distressed migrant boats.

Reuters said: “Currently, the missions of charities or NGOs in the central Mediterranean usually last several days, with charity boats completing different rescue operations and often taking hundreds of people on board.”

Ship masters breaching these rules risk fines of up to 50,000 euros (S$71,000); repeated violations can result in the impoundment of the vessel.

Unsurprisingly the decree has prompted outrage from the NGOs carrying out rescue work. In a joint letter, 20 organisations declared: “We, civil organisations engaged in search-and-rescue activities in the central Mediterranean Sea, express our gravest concerns regarding the latest attempt by a European government to obstruct assistance to people in distress at sea.”

The NGOs argue that the new law will “reduce rescue capacities at sea and thereby make the central Mediterranean, one of the world’s deadliest migration routes, even more dangerous”.

In a statement, the NGO Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) said: “Among other rules, the Italian government requests civilian rescue ships to immediately head to Italy after each rescue. This delays further lifesaving operations, as ships usually carry out multiple rescues over the course of several days. Instructing search-and-rescue NGOs to proceed immediately to a port, while other people are in distress at sea, contradicts the captain’s obligation to render immediate assistance to people in distress, as enshrined in the United Nations’ Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

HRAS added: “This element of the decree is compounded by the Italian government’s recent policy to assign ‘distant ports’ more frequently, which can be up to four days of navigation from ships’ current location.” It noted that doing this keeps search-and-rescue vessels out of the rescue area for prolonged periods and reduces their ability to help people in distress.

“NGOs are already overstretched due to the absence of a state-run search-and-rescue operation, and the decreased presence of rescue ships will inevitably result in more people tragically drowning at sea.”

At first sight, it would appear that Italy’s decree would not affect merchant ships too much, given that they would typically want to proceed to a port as quickly as possible and disembark those they had rescued.

However, the concern must be that if the operations of NGOs are curtailed, there will be a jump in the number of incidents that require merchant ships to go to the rescue. The politics underlying the current situation are complex, and it is unlikely that input from the shipping industry will have much effect.

So yet again, shipping lines and their seafarers will be expected to do what nobody else is allowed or prepared to.