Mission Eleonore
The ship Eleonore, or Mission Eleonore, is a former fishing vessel which was operated on the Mediterranean Sea by the German NGO Mission Lifeline for the rescue of shipwrecked refugees. Following the confiscation in summer 2018 of their previous rescue ship Lifeline, Eleonore sailed for a single mission which ended with the confiscation of Eleonore in turn. In the one mission undertaken, Eleonore rescued 104 people from drowning.
Technical details
The Eleonore is a former fishing boat, currently registered as a pleasure boat. Eleonore is 20 m in length;[1][2][3][4] her MMSI is 211265310.[5]
Purchase of Eleonore
Benjamin Hartmann, owner of the statement fashion label HUMAN BLOOD, officially acted as the buyer for the purchase of the fishing boat Eleonore in May 2019.[6][7] The subsequent conversion to a rescue ship was financed by the donor and Mission Lifeline.[8] According to the association's founder, Axel Steier, it was necessary to use a 'straw man' because the authorities were unlikely to let him or his captain register a rescue ship.[7]
Operation
Eleonore, registered as a pleasure boat, set out at the end of August 2019 for the sea area off the Libyan coast, under the command of Claus-Peter Reisch.[9] The crew was informed of the position of a struggling rubber dinghy by the Alarm-Phone-Initiative and finally took on a total of 104 people[10] from the dinghy. Both Italy and Malta refused requests to enter their ports, so the overcrowded rescue ship had to be supplied with food and water on the high seas.[11] At the beginning of September, after violent thunderstorms, Reisch declared the Eleonore an emergency due to a life-threatening situation on board, and ran into the Sicilian port of Pozzallo accompanied by the Italian coast guard. This, however, was contrary to the instructions of Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, and the Eleonore was then confiscated by the Italian police.[12][4][3]
See also
References
- ^ Mission Eleonore mission-lifeline.de, accessed 18 May 2021
- ^ ELEONORE www.vesseltracker.com, 'MMSI: 211265310' accessed 18 May 2021
- ^ a b December 2020 update - NGO ships involved in search and rescue in the Mediterranean and legal proceedings against them 18 December 2020, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, fra.europa.eu, accessed 18 May 2021
- ^ a b Monique Agius Updated: Watch: Italian police seize Lifeline’s vessel; Asylum seekers to disembark 2 September 2019 newsbook.com.mt, accessed 20 June 2021
- ^ ELEONORE Pleasure craft, MMSI 211265310 'The vessel ELEONORE (MMSI 211265310) is a Pleasure craft and currently sailing under the flag of Germany.' www.vesselfinder.com, accessed 20 June 2021
- ^ "Oberpfälzer kauft Schiff für Seenotretter von "Mission Lifeline"" [Upper Palatinate buys ship for sea rescuers from "Mission Lifeline"]. www.onetz.de. Retrieved 2020-04-01.
- ^ a b Christian Knuth: "Schwuler Modeunternehmer kauft Schiff für Seenotrettung im Mittelmeer" (tr. "Christian Knuth: "Gay fashion entrepreneur buys ship for sea rescue in the Mediterranean" ") 26 August 2019, blu.fm
- ^ "Oberpfälzer Mode-Unternehmer sponsert Schiff für Seenotrettung" (tr. "Upper Palatinate fashion entrepreneur sponsors ship for sea rescue") 26 August 2019 www.br.de
- ^ "„Lifeline“-Kapitän mit neuem Schiff wieder im Mittelmeer unterwegs", (tr. "“Lifeline” captain on the move in the Mediterranean with a new ship") 24 August 2019, Welt.de
- ^ "300.000-Euro-Strafe für deutschen Kapitän Reisch von NGO-Schiff Eleonore" [300,000 euro fine for German captain Reisch of the NGO ship Eleonore]. www.derstandard.de. Retrieved 2021-03-14.
- ^ Julia Anton: -: "„Die Welt zieht den Vorhang vor einem Drama zu“" (tr. "Julia Anton: -: "" The world draws the curtain on a drama "" ") 29 August 2019 FAZ.de
- ^ "Italien beschlagnahmt deutsches Rettungsschiff" [Italy confiscates German rescue ship]. www.t-online.de. 2019-09-02. Retrieved 2019-09-03.