For the rescue shipwrecked in the Mediterranean is again an auxiliary ship in use. The ship „Alan Kurdi“ have left the port of Palma de Mallorca after a permit from the authorities in the night on today, said the aid organization Sea-Eye.
It was „the last remaining ship of a relief organization that is not blocked by authorities or held by states.“ After a three-week break and various maintenance work, the ship headed for Libya to observe the situation in international waters off the coast of the North African country. On board were also three sailors and a nurse of the Spanish aid organization Proemaid.
According to the aid organization, the new mission was made possible by a donation from German Cardinal Marx. The long blockade of the ship off the coast of Malta around the turn of the year had torn a „financial hole in the club budget,“ it said. At that time, the aid organization had 17 rescued refugees on board, who were allowed to go ashore only after tough negotiations on their distribution in the EU.
The ship was until recently under the name „Professor Albrecht Penck“ on the way and was renamed „Alan Kurdi“ a week ago. That was the name of a three-year-old boy who drowned in September 2015 at the height of the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean.
