The MV ''Aquarius'', formerly ''Aquarius Dignitus'' and ''Aquarius 2'' , is a 1977-built dual-flagged
(Germany and Panama) search and rescue vessel, which has been used to rescue
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. and
migrants stranded in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
since 2016.
It has been chartered and operated since February 2016 by the
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
s
SOS Méditerranée
''SOS Méditerranée'' is a European, maritime-humanitarian organization for the rescue of life at sea, currently operating in the Mediterranean sea in international waters north of Libya. The organization chartered the ''Aquarius'' and more rece ...
and
Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. M ...
(MSF or Doctors without borders) as a rescue vessel for migrants and refugees making the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
crossing in makeshift craft from
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
as part of the
European migrant crisis
The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...
.
The vessel is a converted
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
coast-guard and fishery protection vessel (then named ''Meerkatze'', built in 1977). The ship has a registered capacity to accommodate 25 crew members and usually carries 4 journalists and can carry up to 300 rescued migrants. All of the refugees sleep on the deck, as the vessel does not have beds, cabins or accommodation for refugees. In November 2018, ''The Guardian'' reported that her flag had been revoked by Panama and Liberia, and there was a search for a prospective flag to register under.
History
Completed by
Lürssen
Lürssen (or Lürssen Werft) is a German shipyard with headquarters in Bremen-Vegesack and shipbuilding facilities in Lemwerder, Berne and Bremen-Fähr-Lobbendorf.
Lürssen designs and constructs yachts, naval ships and special vessels. Tradin ...
in Bremen in 1977, serial ID 13453, the ship was utilised by the German Federal Agency for Agriculture and Nutrition (BLE) unit of the
Küstenwache
The German Federal Coast Guard (german: Küstenwache des Bundes) is a civilian law enforcement organisation whose primary missions are border protection, maritime environmental protection, shipping safety, fishery protection and customs enforcem ...
, or the German Federal Coast Guard, as a "''Fischereischutzboot''" or fishery protection vessel.
![Cuxhaven kuestenwache meerkatze](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Cuxhaven_kuestenwache_meerkatze.jpg)
The ship was classified by
Germanischer Lloyd
The Germanischer Lloyd SE was a classification society based in the city of Hamburg, Germany. It ceased to exist as an independent entity in September 2013 as a result of its merger with Norway's DNV (Det Norske Veritas) to become DNV GL.
Before ...
as a Class E2
icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
, employed principally in the central
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
and
North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...
, where thanks to its design it proved excellent at navigating through adverse sea conditions. In 2009 it was decommissioned and replaced by the ''Meerkatze II'', previously the research ship ''Anton Dohrn''. It was acquired by
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
company RS Research Shipping (now Jasmund Shipping), renamed MV ''Aquarius'' and re-registered under
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
port of registry. Here it operated until the end of 2015 as a survey vessel for renewable energy, oil & gas industry, and other offshore projects.
On 1 September 2018, the vessel's operators changed the ship's name from ''Aquarius'' to ''Aquarius 2'' and changed its vessel type from "research vessel" to "search and rescue vessel".
The ship has been operated and managed by Jasmund shipping GmBH since June 2017, and after a brief interval again since 11 September 2018. Prior to this, the ship was managed by Hempel shipping (2009–2017). The ship has been owned by Aquarius GmBH & Co KG since April 2009.
On 16 August 2018, the ship was inspected by the
Port state control
Port state control (PSC) is an inspection regime for countries to inspect foreign-registered ships in port other than those of the flag state and take action against ships that are not in compliance. Inspectors for PSC are called PSC officers (PS ...
(Pais MoU) at
Valletta
Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...
(
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
) and five deficiencies were found related to the crew certificates, oil record book and blocked routes of escape.
Operations in Mediterranean Sea
In February 2016 the ship was chartered by humanitarian NGO SOS Méditerranée, to provide open sea rescue and support to migrants crossing the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
to reach the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
. Operating on missions coordinated by Rome's
maritime rescue coordination centre, patrolling the waters around Sicily, Lampedusa, and near the Libyan coast, it provided aid to over 10,000 migrants. On 25 May 2016 the ''Aquarius'' returned from its tenth rescue operation, having saved 388 migrants. A
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
ian boy was born on board who was subsequently named Alex in honor of the
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
n captain of the ''Aquarius'', Alexander Moroz.
In June 2018 the ship, carrying 629 migrants from Sudan and Bangladesh saved from the sea, was denied entry to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
by its new Interior Minister
Matteo Salvini
Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of Federal ...
and to Malta as well. The Government of Spain offered the ship the chance to dock in the port of
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, Spain, and the
Italian Navy
"Fatherland and Honour"
, patron =
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = ( is the return of soldiers to their barrack, or sailors to their ship after a ...
offered full assistance and a marine escort for the trip. ''Aquarius'' and its migrants arrived at the
Port of Valencia
The Port of Valencia is a seaport in Valencia, Spain. It is the fifth busiest seaport in Europe and the busiest port in the Mediterranean. As of 2019, it moves an annual cargo traffic of around and 5.4 million TEU, ranking first in Spain and seco ...
on 17 June. Half of them opted to claim asylum in France, insofar as France opened the doors to anyone from the ''Aquarius''. In August 2018, Spain refused entry to the vessel carrying 141 migrants from Eritrea and Somalia as Spain is not the closest safe port, as stipulated by international law. They were distributed among France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain.
On 20 September 2018 the Aquarius picked up ten
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
is and a person from the Ivory Coast from a
dinghy
A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...
from the Libyan coast and from the closest European shore, the Italian island
Lampedusa
Lampedusa ( , , ; scn, Lampidusa ; grc, Λοπαδοῦσσα and Λοπαδοῦσα and Λοπαδυῦσσα, Lopadoûssa; mt, Lampeduża) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ''comune'' of L ...
.
The same day the Aquarius asked Italy and Malta permission to disembark the eleven migrants and both countries refused.
The migrants were handed over to a coastguard vessel off Malta on 29 September 2018, after European governments had agreed to take the people in. The ''Aquarius 2'' returned to Marseille.
In the autumn of 2018, the ship was repeatedly denied entry by Italy was instead forced to land in Malta and Spain. Italy had seen more than 700,000 migrants arrive on its shores in the 2013–2018 period.
In December 2018, MSF and SOS Méditerranée announced that they had ceased their operations with the ship due repeated accusations of trafficking in waste and criminal activity, but affirmed their determination to "resume our activities".
Flag
The vessel was flagged under the
flag of convenience
Flag of convenience (FOC) is a business practice whereby a ship's owners register a merchant ship in a ship register of a country other than that of the ship's owners, and the ship flies the civil ensign of that country, called the flag state ...
Gibraltar since February 2018. She was registered as a
research and survey vessel, which subsequently led to administrative issues. On 6 August 2018 the Gibraltar Maritime Administration issued a "notice of removal" for the Aquarius, because she was registered as a survey vessel, but used as a rescue ship. As a result, the ship was warned that she would be removed from Gibraltar registry. Thence, the ship's operators approached other flags in order to register the ship under them. On 10 August 2018, they applied to register the ship with a
Vatican-State flag, but this was denied by Vatican. On 27 August 2018 the ship arrived in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
and its operator MSF announced that the owner had applied for a registration of the vessel in the flag of convenience
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
on 20 August. However, on 22 September 2018 the maritime authority of Panama announced that it had initiated procedures to remove the Aquarius from its registry, quoting violations of international law with respect to migrants, rescue at sea and refusing to carry the migrants back to the area where they originated (
UNCLOS
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...
,
SOLAS and
SAR convention). The Government of Panama initiated the process based on information received from Italy that the ''Aquarius'' had not followed international regulations and legal proceedings concerning the transport of migrants. Aquarius was specifically accused of not returning the rescued migrants to Libya as required by the SAR convention.
In September 2018, the vessel continued to be classed with
Germanischer Lloyd
The Germanischer Lloyd SE was a classification society based in the city of Hamburg, Germany. It ceased to exist as an independent entity in September 2013 as a result of its merger with Norway's DNV (Det Norske Veritas) to become DNV GL.
Before ...
and registered with Gibraltar flag as a
research / survey vessel. This led to issues with authorities, as a research and survey vessel cannot operate as a passenger vessel unless it reflects these changes in its registry documents. After the ship returned to Marseille in early October 2018 the owner issued a statement about negotiating to obtain a new flag from
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
,
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
or
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
As per Equasis and
IHS maritime
IHS may refer to:
Religious
* Christogram IHS or ΙΗΣ, a monogram symbolizing Jesus Christ
* '' In hoc signo'', used by Roman emperor Constantine the Great
Organizations
* Indian Health Service, an operating division of the US Department of He ...
, on 1 September 2018, the ship changed its name to ''Aquarius 2'' and changed its flag to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
As per Equasis and
IHS maritime
IHS may refer to:
Religious
* Christogram IHS or ΙΗΣ, a monogram symbolizing Jesus Christ
* '' In hoc signo'', used by Roman emperor Constantine the Great
Organizations
* Indian Health Service, an operating division of the US Department of He ...
, on 1 November 2018, the ship changed its name to ''Aquarius Dignitus'' and changed its flag to
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
.
AQUARIUS DIGNITUS IMO number: 7600574
''vesselregister.dnvgl.com'', accessed 30 April 2021
References
External links
''Aquarius'' Current position
On board diary of MV Aquarius
SOS Mediterranee - Voices from the sea
{{European migrant crisis
Mediterranean Sea
Social welfare charities
Sea rescue organizations
Migrant boat disasters in Europe
Fishery protection vessels
1977 ships