Italian authorities redirect the Ocean Viking to Sicily after the attack.
On Sunday afternoon, the SOS Mediterranee vessel Ocean Viking, carrying 87 migrants rescued hours earlier, was struck by multiple bullets fired from a Libyan Coast Guard patrol boat. No injuries were reported on board, and the crew is currently undertaking a thorough investigation of the incident, reports 24brussels.
The attack occurred shortly after the ship had rescued individuals off the coast of Libya, with SOS Mediterranee releasing images of the vessel showing damage from the gunfire. In response to the incident, Italy’s Interior Ministry reversed its initial order for the migrants to be disembarked in Marina di Carrara, permitting the humanitarian vessel to sail to Syracuse, the nearest port in Sicily.
“The 87 survivors and the crew on board were not wounded. We are currently working on a detailed reconstruction of events,” SOS Mediterranee posted on X.
Sergio Scandura, a European migration expert and journalist, reported via X that the vessel that fired upon the Ocean Viking was equipped by Italy to the Libyan Coast Guard.
Italian Red Cross President Rosario Valastro commented, “It is unacceptable that operators who intervened to save 87 lives were fired upon after a rescue. Our deepest sympathy goes to the crew and to the rescued migrants who, in addition to carrying out the necessary activities to respond to the shipwreck, had to endure this sad episode, which we hope will not be repeated.”
On the same day, the Italian NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans disembarked 10 migrants in the Sicilian port of Trapani after rescuing them in the central Mediterranean, defying outgoing instructions from Italian authorities to head to Genoa.
Ship commander Beppe Caccia made the decision on Saturday evening to bring the migrants ashore in Sicily, citing their need for urgent medical and psychological assistance, and refused to redirect to the more distant port of Genoa, which was approximately three days’ sailing away.
