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British coastguard blocks a former RNLI lifeboat from rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean

The Aurora rescued 85 people including a number of children off the north African coast on 29 May. It has been blocked from returning to sea by the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency

British coastguard officials have blocked a former RNLI lifeboat from rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean as a UN envoy warns humanitarian groups are facing a crackdown on efforts to save lives.

The Aurora, which had served in the RNLI for 25 years before being sold to British charity Search and Rescue Relief, rescued 85 people including a number of children off the north African coast on 29 May when their fibreglass skiff began to sink as they tried to reach Europe from Libya.

Italian authorities gave the crew permission to take the rescued migrants to Italy’s Lampedusa island, where they were disembarked.

But two days later, the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) sent the charity a prohibition notice preventing Aurora from going back to sea – saying it was operating “beyond the geographical limitations” of the UK’s Rescue Boat Code under which it is certified.

The MCA says it took action after the Italian maritime administration contacted the MCA with concerns over the boat’s certification.

A UNHCR special envoy said countries are increasing using red tape to stop non-governmental boats from carrying out rescues in the Mediterranean at a time when some states are failing to fulfil their duty to save lives.

The Aurora, a former RNLI lifeboat, rescued 85 migrants in the Mediterranean on 29 May. (Photo: Search and Rescue Relief/Sea Watch)
Tracking data shows Aurora, operated by international non-governmental rescue body Sea Watch, has been stranded at the island for nearly a month. More than 40 people are reported to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in that time (Photo: Search and Rescue Relief/Sea Watch)

Trustees of the charity say the “no sense” prohibition came after they were told by the MCA on 28 April that Italy’s maritime authorities had confirmed the boat was operating within the Italian search and rescue organisation.

A spokeswoman for the MCA said: “The Italian maritime administration contacted the MCA with concerns over the certification of a UK registered vessel operating within their jurisdiction.

“We have worked with the owner to assist them all we can with advice on the appropriate certification this vessel needs to operate under. The Rescue Boat Code quite clearly states that the certificates issued under its scope are only applicable within UK territorial waters only.

“In order to continue operating the code requires the owner to have the approval of the Italian maritime administration as the co-ordinating authority for search and rescue in that region.”

Tracking data shows Aurora, operated by international non-governmental rescue body Sea Watch, has been stranded at the island for nearly a month. More than 40 people are reported to have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in that time.

The ban on the boat’s operations comes after the European Court of Human Rights intervened to stop the UK sending asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East who reach Britain’s shores 4,000 miles away to Rwanda. Migrants from countries including Sudan hoping to reach the UK across the English Channel have to first cross the Mediterranean.

Lawyers for the British charity, which is also behind the Banksy-funded rescue ship Louise Michel, are now launching a legal arbitration with the MCA in a bid to get the Aurora and its crew of six, including a doctor, back to sea.

The Aurora has been operating in Italian waters since April. It has been stranded at the island of Lampedusa since the rescue on 29 May (Mapping by i data reporter Tom Saunders/data from MarineTraffic.com)

The Aurora was named Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma when it served as an RNLI relief boat from 1994 to 2019. It had been operating in the Mediterranean for more than a month without hindrance before the MCA issued the prohibition notice following the rescue.

According to the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), legal action and red tape is being increasingly used to stop non-governmental boats from carrying out rescues – with five boats from other countries currently blocked in ports pending legal proceedings and nine others docked for technical reasons.

Dickon Mitchell, a trustee of Search and Rescue Relief, told i: “As a British charity, we’re proud of the UK’s naval history and its internationally renowned rescue service. We only wanted to add to that.

“The MCA was fully aware of our intentions and agreed with us that the Italians were also happy for us to be there.

“Everything was fine until we rescued a large number of people. Two days later, we were issued with a prohibition notice by the MCA.

“It makes no sense. The Aurora was designed to save lives and all we’re trying to do, in a professional way, is stop people including children and babies from drowning.

“Like the RNLI, our intention is to save lives at sea. These are just different people in a different place.”

The former RNLI lifeboat Aurora rescued 85 migrants in the Mediterranean on 29 May. (Photo: Search and Rescue Relief/Sea Watch)
The former RNLI lifeboat Aurora rescued 85 migrants in the Mediterranean on 29 May (Photo: Search and Rescue Relief/Sea Watch)

More than 18,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year and around 840 have died – an average of five per day.

Vincent Cochetel, the UNHCR’s special envoy for the central Mediterranean, told i from Tunisia that non-governmental rescue boats are playing a “critical role” in saving lives when “some states are defaulting on their international maritime obligations”.

But he said many have been blocked at ports in recent years. Countries should not use compliance with maritime and safety standards “as a tool to prevent them from saving lives”, he said.

Experts advising the charity say there is nothing in the UK’s Boat Rescue Code that prevents British lifeboats from operating abroad and the Aurora was allowed to operate in the Mediterranean for 35 days before the MCA issued the prohibition notice.

At 25 knots, the 14-metre Trent-class lifeboat, which sails under a UK flag, is one of the fastest and best equipped civil rescue vessels operating in the Mediterranean. The charity says it is classified as a lifeboat by the MCA and is certified under the UK’s Rescue Boat Code.

The former RNLI lifeboat Aurora rescued 85 migrants in the Mediterranean on 29 May. (Photo: Search and Rescue Relief/SEA Watch)
The 85 migrants were disembarked at Lampedusa (Photo: Search and Rescue Relief/SEA Watch)

Search and rescue expert Matthew Schanck, said: “Since the Aurora has been at Lampedusa, 45 people have drowned in the Mediterranean and an incredibly useful rescue asset has been kept in port for reasons that don’t exist.

“There is no legal backing to any of these claims by the MCA. The Italian coastguard have worked well with the charity and have not raised any concerns. The MCA has taken it upon itself to blockade the vessel.”

The former RNLI lifeboat Aurora rescued 85 migrants in the Mediterranean on 29 May. (Photo: Search and Rescue Relief/Sea Watch)
The former RNLI lifeboat Aurora (Photo: Search and Rescue Relief/Sea Watch)

It is not unusual for retired RNLI boats to be used by search and rescue organisations abroad. The service has a long-standing relationship with Uruguay’s lifeboat service, with four former boats now saving lives in the 140-mile-wide Rio de la Plata estuary.

The RNLI said: “Once lifeboats reach the end of their operational life at the RNLI, they are often sold on for a variety of purposes including search and rescue, commercial and private leisure.”

i has contacted Italy’s coast guard, the Guardia Costiera, for a comment.

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