Thousands of migrants die on the sea but it’s not just because of
their rickety boats – merchant vessels fail to assist them due to the
difficulties of discharging them, according to a maritime expert.
Captain Wolf-Peter Rabitz said it could take days for the migrants to
be allowed to disembark and the legal consequences could last several
years.
He said it was common knowledge that thousands of refugees have died
on their north-bound voyage because of the unseaworthiness of their
boats “but also because many parties have not taken appropriate steps to
assist”.
“It is taken for granted that one or the other ship that has passed
such a scene has not assisted because of the known difficulties to have
such refugees discharged again,” he said.
