- Title: Aquarius rescue ship asks France's permission to dock in Marseille
- Date: 24th September 2018
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (SEPTEMBER 24, 2018) (REUTERS) SCREEN READING (French): "The Italian government puts pressure on Panama to stop the rescue operations of the Aquarius" REPRESENTATIVES OF MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES AND SOS MEDITERRANEE, WHO RUN AQUARIUS MISSION, DURING NEWS CONFERENCE SIGN ON TABLE WITH REPRESENTATIVE'S NAME (SOUNDBITE) (French) SOS MEDITERRANEE PRESIDENT, FRANCIS VALLAT, SAYING: "Our demands are clear. We demand, without getting our hopes up, that Panama reverse its decision." JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (French) SOS MEDITERRANEE PRESIDENT, FRANCIS VALLAT, SAYING: "Secondly, right here, right now, we call solemnly on all European countries, who are still, in general, law-abiding nations, to please not let this happen. We can be for or against what the Aquarius does, but law-abiding nations could not violate laws themselves." SIGN READING (French): "SOS MEDITERRANEE #TOGETHERFORRESCUE" (SOUNDBITE) (French) SOS MEDITERRANEE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, FREDERIC PENARD, SAYING: "Currently, the Aquarius sits at the central part of the Mediterranean Sea with 58 survivors aboard. These 58 survivors aboard, I will tell you briefly who they are. Numbers are important, but it's important for me to tell you who they are. We have aboard, among the 28 survivors, 17 women, one pregnant woman. We have 18 minors, we have three little children. The nationalities of the people aboard include Libyan, Pakistani, Ivorian, Palestinian, Syrian and Sudanese." JOURNALISTS DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) SOS MEDITERRANEE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, FREDERIC PENARD, SAYING: "We have always asked, according to maritime laws, to unload people at the nearest port. But today, our port of destination is Marseille, and so we are calling solemnly on the French authorities to authorise, as an exception, because exceptional circumstances call for exceptional measures, that they allow as a humanitarian gesture to unload the 58 people whom I talked about a moment ago, who are aboard the Aquarius. It's the only option that we have, the only option that would protect the Aquarius, because protecting the Aquarius means leaving a small chance for a civil vessel, which today is the only remaining one, but I hope will not stay that way for long and will allow for a new start of a real mobilisation for sea rescue missions. The Aquarius must absolutely continue its mission, and the port of Marseille is the only possible place so that it can leave again." NEWS BRIEFING IN PROGRESS NEWS BRIEFING ENDING
- Embargoed: 8th October 2018 16:15
- Keywords: Migrant crisis Aquarius ship Mediterranean Sea Panama Italy Europe rescue
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE / AT SEA
- City: PARIS, FRANCE / AT SEA
- Country: France
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0028YZLR9J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: In a desperate plea for help, NGOs running the Aquarius rescue ship on Monday (September 24) called on France to allow the vessel to unload rescued migrants in the southern city of Marseille.
Speaking at a news conference, representatives of Medecins sans Frontieres and SOS Mediterranee, who run the mission, also called on Europe for humanitarian aid and asked Panama to reinstate its registration to operate.
The Panama Maritime Authority revoked the registration of the search and rescue ship on Sunday (September 23) in a move that means there will no longer be any charity rescue ships off the Libyan coast in the near future unless the vessel can find a new flag to sail under.
Aquarius 2, the one remaining charity rescue vessel still operating in the Central Mediterranean area, is currently at sea with 58 survivors on board, among them women and children.
NGO representatives blamed Italy for putting pressure on Panama to disband the mission and halt the flow of migrants into its coasts.
SOS Mediterranee Director of Operations Frederic Penard said French authorities are aware of their request and that no date has been set for the Aquarius 2's landing on Marseille's coast. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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