''VOS Prudence'' is a ship originally built as an offshore supply vessel for the shipping company Vroon Offshore Services.

Description

The ship was built as the first of two identical ships for the shipping company at the Fujian South East Shipyard in China. It was delivered in May 2013. The ship sails under the Italian

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

and is operated by Vroon Offshore Services in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

. The ship is powered by two Niigata

diesel engines The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-calle ...

(type: 8L 28 HX), each with an output of 2,206 kW, which act via two azimuth thruster propeller pods. The ship is also equipped with two

bow thrusters Bow often refers to: * Bow and arrow, a weapon * Bowing, bending the upper body as a social gesture * An ornamental knot made of ribbon Bow may also refer to: * Bow (watercraft), the foremost part of a ship or boat * Bow (position), the rower s ...

, each with an output of 650 kW. The ship has a dynamic positioning system. Three generator sets are available for power generation, each driven by a

Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

diesel engine (type: C18) with an output of 450 kW. The emergency generator is driven by a Caterpillar diesel engine (type: C4.4) with an output of 80 kW. The deck superstructures are located in the front area of the ship. The ship is set up for 50 people: 14 crew members and 36 other people. There are six single cabins and 22 double cabins available on board. Behind the superstructure is an open, 700m² deck. The deck can be loaded with 5.5t / m². A total of 1,200t can be transported on deck. A deck crane that can lift 10t is available directly behind the deckhouse for moving loads.

Use as a rescue ship

The ship was temporarily used by Médecins sans frontières Belgique for the rescue of shipwrecked migrants in the Mediterranean. The ship, which was designed as a lifeboat for 600 people after being fitted out, saved over 1,400 refugees off the

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 ...

n coast on May 24, 2017. Since ports in

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were closed to the reception of refugees due to the G-7 summit taking place there, the ship had to take the rescued people onwards to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. In August 2017, MSF suspended rescue operations in the Mediterranean for the time being following the announcement by the

Libyan Coast Guard The Libyan Coast Guard is organizationally part of the Libyan Navy, although it operates as a proxy force of the European Union in order to prevent migrants from reaching the EU's borders. As of 2015, the Libyan Coast Guard has over 1,000 personne ...

that it would set up its own rescue zone that would be closed to aid organisations. After the number of refugees had decreased significantly, the organisation ended the operation of its own ship in October 2017, but continued to participate in the operation of the ''

Aquarius Aquarius may refer to: Astrology * Aquarius (astrology), an astrological sign * Age of Aquarius, a time period in the cycle of astrological ages Astronomy * Aquarius (constellation) * Aquarius in Chinese astronomy Arts and entertainment ...

'' together with the organisation SOS Méditerranée. In May 2021, members of ''VOS Prudence crew were accused of illegally dumping rubbish into municipal waste bins in Catania in between rescue missions in 2017 and 2018.

References

{{reflist

Sources

Datenblatt
Vroon Offshore Services (PDF, 266 kB)
Mittelmeer-Logbuch: An Bord eines NGO-Schiffes
(''tr. "Mediterranean logbook: On board an NGO ship"'') (''Kurier.at'')

External links

''Aquarius'' Current position

On board diary of MV Aquarius

SOS Mediterranee - Voices from the sea
Mediterranean Sea 2013 ships Ships built in China