A privately funded NGO based in
Malta and dedicated to saving migrants at sea will resume its
search and rescue operations in May in conjunction with Doctors
Without Borders humanitarian NGO, founder Regina Liotta
Catrambone told Vita da Malta online paper Monday.
Catrambone's Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) saved
3,000 people in two months last year.
"We call on all Italian shippers and entrepreneurs to make
any unused seaworthy vessels available to us," Catrambone said.
"Civil society and private citizens can contribute a
lot...especially those who have weathered the economic crisis
and can dedicate themselves to philanthropy".
MOAS is equipped with a 40-metre (130 ft) expedition vessel
named the Phoenix, two drones, two rigid-hulled inflatable
boats, and a highly experienced team of rescuers and paramedics.
"This year we invested even more on technology, because
reaching a vessel in distress even 10 minutes faster can avert
tragedies," she said.
This year's MOAS-MSF operation was made possible thanks to
private financing, including from a German entrepreneur, and is
carried out in international waters following directives from
the Rome Coast Guard command, Catrambone said.
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