OCEAN VIKING. The SOS Méditerranée ship will dock at the port of Toulon this Friday, November 11. Once on earth, he will raise the question of the reception of migrants, some of whom should be sent to neighboring countries.
The Ocean Viking has found a port to moor after twenty days at sea. It is in Toulon that the humanitarian boat of SOS Méditerranée will dock this Friday, November 11, 2022, in accordance with the announcements made by the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin at midday this Thursday. But if the ship has found where to anchor, the question of the reception of the 234 migrants present on board arises. The Minister quickly set out the policy planned so that France does not bear the sole responsibility for welcoming refugees and it is according to the rule of distribution by thirds that the survivors will be welcomed on European soil. France, which hosts the Ocean Viking on its shores, is automatically responsible for sick refugees, all people with a critical state of health will be hospitalized in French establishments. Particular attention will also be paid to the children who survived the trip, some of whom are very young according to Gérald Darmanin. The count of SOS Méditerranée indicates that 57 children and about twenty patients are currently on the point of the ship. It should be noted that on the morning of Thursday, November 10, three migrants and a companion were evacuated from the boat by helicopter to reach the Bastia hospital and provide care for the three refugees who were in critical condition.
After the care of the sick and the checks on the state of health of the children, the migrants from the Ocean Viking will be distributed to join other European States in particular Germany which will welcome a third of the refugees, i.e. around 80 people. Gérald Darmanin indicated that discussions with other governments are underway, particularly with Norway to ensure the reception of another third of migrants. Its discussions are also held with Italy which was, according to European law, responsible for finding a place for the boat in one of its ports. The Minister took advantage of his speech to indicate that the reception strategy presented is the same as that which was normally planned to relieve and support Italy in the reception of refugees. What qualify once again as “unacceptable” the attitude of the government of Giorgia Meloni. Still, in France the reception of migrants, even from a single party, is not to everyone’s taste. Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right opposition tweeted to denounce a “dramatic signal of laxity”: With this decision, [Emmanuel Macron] can no longer make anyone believe that he wants to end mass and anarchic immigration.”
Migrants from the Ocean Viking evacuated
Shortly before the decision of the French government to authorize the Ocean Viking to dock in the port of Toulon on November 11, the French air force proceeded thanks to one of its helicopters to the evacuation of three migrants and a companion to allow the hospitalization of refugees whose critical state of health had been reported by the humanitarian association. “One of the patients has been unstable and unresponsive to on-board care since October 27. The other two suffered injuries in Libya which, due to the long delay in treatment, are now at risk of adverse consequences to long term,” said a spokesperson for SOS Méditerranée. The small group was received at Bastia hospital (Haute-Corse) where a medico-psychological emergency unit (CUMP) was triggered according to information from France Televisions. The very weakened health of the migrants who first survived on makeshift boats before being rescued by the Ocean Viking reflects the “ordeal” suffered during the twenty days at sea according to the director of the NGO, Sophie Beau, with the AFP.
Expected in Toulon, what is the position of the Ocean Viking?
Since this Thursday, November 10, the Ocean Viking has been floating in French waters near the Corsican coast where it thought it would dock during the day. But the ship is now heading for the port of Toulon, still in national waters, and its position can be tracked by the geolocation service offered by vesselfinder. Before arriving near the French coast, the Ocean Viking remained in Italian waters for a long time, where it was initially to be welcomed like the three other boats in the humanitarian convoy before being sent back further from the coast into international territory while the ‘Italy and France were arm wrestling, as the director of the NGO, Sophie Beau, pointed out to theAFP : “The situation of the Ocean Viking shows that it is urgent for European States to set up a permanent distribution mechanism”.
Why do Italy and France disagree on hosting the Ocean Viking?
The Ocean Viking is one of four so-called “ambulance” boats from SOS Méditerranée used to collect more than 1,000 migrants shipwrecked at sea after fleeing Libya with makeshift boats. Located in international waters but closer to the Italian coasts, it was towards the country chaired by Giorgia Meloni that the association turned to find a port. Italy agreed to welcome the boats but went back on its word after having the first three ships dock, closing its ports to the arrival of the Ocean Viking. An attitude deemed “unacceptable” by the spokesperson for the French government Olivier Véran on November 9 at the microphone of France info according to which the ship was “destined to be received in Italy”.
The French government has insisted in discussions with the Italian executive that the reception of the boat and the migrants takes place in Italy according to “the European rule” which provides that “the boat must disembark in the nearest port, which is an Italian port” specified the Minister for the Economy, Bruno Le Maire on France 2 Thursday, November 10 before adding: “If we start to deviate from this rule, there is no longer any solidarity possible, there is no longer any effective management of migratory flows”. But the urgency of the situation has prompted the French state and government to review its plans. This did not prevent him from denouncing Italy which failed in its “humanitarian duty”.
French sanctions in response to Italy
Deeming Italy irresponsible, the French government said it planned punitive or at least penalizing measures against the country in the boot, particularly in terms of immigration. “We made a commitment with Germany to relocate – 3,500 by the summer of 2023 – people who would arrive in Italy, in particular because of the law of the sea. If we welcome these 234 migrants, we will not relocate any of the people that we had committed to relocate for the weeks, the months to come, as long as Italy will keep this behavior contrary to international law, solidarity and the commitments of the Italian government before the arrival of new Italian authorities”, said know Gérald Darmanin, notes BFM TV. The minister even mentioned the idea of excluding Italy from the European solidarity program which is supposed to allow the distribution of migrants “so that Italy cannot benefit from this European solidarity, while being selfish”.
What does international law say?
During the crisis of the Aquarius ship which was stuck in Italian and Maltese waters in 2018, Niki Aloupi, professor at the University of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas and Hélène Raspail, lecturer at the University of Le Mans, had recalled the rules regarding the reception of survivors. Asked by Dalloz, they had underlined that “the place of disembarkation is unfortunately not identified by the various rules of international law”. International law provides for disembarkation in a “safe place” but does not provide further details. They also deplored a lack of clarity on this sensitive subject because “international law leaves States with the burden of this obligation”. Few changes have therefore been observed between 2018 and 2022, because humanitarian crises pass but are similar.