05.06.2020

Great news from the shipyard!

Despite the corona, the ship is making progress and the planning for the first mission of Sea-Watch 4 is in full swing. We have asked what the current status is exactly. The spokesperson of Sea-Watch, Oliver Kulikowski, answers our questions:

Oliver, what's the situation on site?
During the last weeks only a small but dedicated hull crew could be on the ship and do the work that was possible despite the pandemic. Now that the corona restrictions in Spain have eased somewhat, and the company in general is preparing to continue despite the crisis, we hope to be able to continue with the conversion work that is still outstanding. We have talked to all those involved on board and ashore and together we have looked for a way to make this possible.

And what does that look like in concrete terms?
The new shipyard crew should be on board by mid-June and we expect to be able to complete all work on Sea-Watch 4 by mid-July. Our project coordinators are already involved in the planning on site so that we will start as soon as possible when the shipyard crew arrives.

You have another ship, the Sea-Watch 3, which is located in Sicily. How does Corona affect your other rescue missions?
Corona has of course led to massive cuts in the ability to conduct rescue missions at all, and that also applies to the reconnaissance flights of our search plane Moonbird. In the last few weeks, our Medical Department has developed new guidelines for dealing with the risk of infection during rescue missions. First of all, it is important that our crew on board is healthy and does not infect the guests after a rescue. All crew members were therefore in quarantine for 14 days after entering Italy and were tested for Covid-19 before they could board.
On board we have also adapted the safety concept accordingly, so that we can hopefully leave again in a few days. The many maritime emergencies in recent weeks have once again shown how important civil sea rescue is:
To rescue, but also to bear witness to human rights violations and to force European governments to act.

You can find more impressions of the ship here: www.flickr.com/photos/united4rescue/ or on our accounts in the social media.