Maersk ship rescues 113 migrants

Containership Alexander Maersk reportedly had to wait days before receiving permission to put the rescued people ashore in Sicily.    A Maersk containership that rescued more than 100 migrants on Friday in the Mediterranean had to wait until late Monday before receiving permission to put them ashore, and reportedly not until calls from Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen for Italy to comply with obligations under international law.
   According to an account by the World Shipping Council, the main trade organization for the container shipping industry, the Alexander Maersk picked up 113 migrants after a request by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Rome to change the vessel’s course and assist in a search and rescue operation in international waters.
   WSC noted that ships traveling in international waters are obligated to assist persons in distress under the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention, adding that, “Governments are also obligated under SOLAS to ‘ensure that masters of ships providing assistance by embarking persons in distress at sea are released from their obligations with minimum further deviation from the ships’ intended voyage.’”
   “Operators of commercial vessels are regularly called upon to assist persons at sea, and they respond willingly to their legal and humanitarian responsibilities,” said John Butler, president and chief executive officer of WSC. “However, commercial cargo vessels are not designed to carry large numbers of people, and that is why SOLAS also obligates governments to promptly provide a place of safety for the rescued persons.”
   The Danish Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday evening that the Italian Ministry of Interior has given permission to have the Alexander Maersk discharge the migrants in Sicily.
   Roberto Ammatuna, the mayor of Pozzallo, Sicily, told the Italian news outlet RAI that the migrants would be “welcomed and assisted in the best possible way.”
   According to BlueWater Reporting, the Danish-flagged Alexander Maersk was built in 1998 and has an operating capacity of 1,068 TEUs.