“This ship will also save lives”

The pictures on the fence at the Überseebrücke show what journey the Sea Watch 5 will soon await. Printed out rescue scenes can be seen: stranded people in orange inflatable boats, exhausted rescued people on deck, worried helpers. Behind the fence, opposite Cap San Diego, rises the rescue ship, 12 years young, 58 meters long: it is said to be faster, larger and more efficient than all of its predecessor ships.

It cost a whopping 4.5 million euros in donations. The money came in particular through the “United4Rescue” alliance set up by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). It brings together more than 850 organizations and groups that are committed to sea rescue in the Mediterranean. In the coming months, the ship will be converted into a refugee ship in Hirtshals and Flensburg, Denmark. The deck on which the rescued are accommodated gets a new floor and rain cover. The activists want to set off on a rescue mission in the Mediterranean for the first time in the new boat as early as March. The baptism was on Thursday.

"This ship will also save lives," said Christian Stäblein, the so-called EKD refugee bishop. "Together with many other organizations, we oppose the deadly isolationist policy of the EU member states with our humanity, solidarity and charity," said the bishop. Sea rescue is a humanitarian duty and a primal Christian task. Synod President Anna-Nicole Heinrich said that the alliance ship is "floating proof" of how much the church can achieve when it enters into strong networks with other organizations and partners.

According to the EKD, more than 25,000 people have drowned in the Mediterranean since 2014, and the number of unreported cases is likely to be significantly higher. This year alone, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) counts 1,765 victims. The Italian rescue mission Mare Nostrum ended in 2014, organizations like Sea Watch, which was founded in 2015, want to fill this gap with civil sea rescue. Again and again, the activists come into conflict with laws and government agencies. Italy, for example, repeatedly denies access to ports.

Around 31 crew members are to accompany a mission, nautical specialists, doctors, but also volunteers, kitchen and auxiliary staff. "There is space on deck for about 400 to 500 rescued people," says Mattea Weihe, a Sea Watch spokeswoman. The “guests”, as the group calls the people rescued from the sea, are then to be taken care of on the aft deck, protected from the sun by a canopy. Gray supply containers are one level higher. Two speedboats are also available to rescue people.

As expected, it is very cramped on deck, there are small cabins with bunk beds, a so-called “recovery area”, i.e. a convalescence area especially for women and children. According to spokeswoman Weihe, they often sit on board the smuggler boats in the middle and not on the outside. A well-intentioned approach, they would be shielded against the waves. In the middle, however, a caustic mixture of faeces, salt water and petrol often collects. As a result, many of the women and children suffered from burns and would first have to be given extensive care after being rescued. On that day, it was not yet clear who would be the captain of the Sea Watch 5 on the first mission. At the weekend (November 5-6), the ship can be viewed at the Hamburg Überseebrücke.

While helpers are getting ready for a rescue mission, more and more refugees are coming to the Hamburg aid system. This year, the number of arrivals is already higher than in the year of the so-called refugee crisis in 2015, the social security authority recently announced. "In 2015, a good 43,100 people came," said spokesman Martin Helfrich. This year there are already 46,700 refugees. Not all people would stay in the Hanseatic city, but would continue to travel or be distributed, some had also traveled back again.

But according to the authorities, the city had to provide accommodation for a good 15,500 people this year - in 2015 there were 21,000 have to be accommodated,” said Helfrich. "These plans were all activated after the outbreak of war in Ukraine."

However, the capacities were not sufficient. "No plan can completely take into account such eventualities as the outbreak of war on European soil," stressed Helfrich. Among other things, refugees are currently being accommodated in 62 Hamburg hotels.

Everywhere in the city, the staff office is looking for refugees and the municipal provider is looking for funding