Email from Aquarius to Malta Transport Centre

“Dear Sir,

On behalf of Medecins Sans Frontieres, I kindly request you further information concerning the disembarkation of the 141 survivors that we have on board the Aquarius currently.

Can you please provide more information on several important questions:

  • Who will be present at the disembarkation and how will it be organized?
  • Will there be any humanitarian organization present on dock that you can connect us with to provide continuity of care? In other ports we have coordinated closely and successfully with similar organizations.
  • Where will the rescued people go immediately after the disembarkation while still in Malta?
  • Where will the people be sent and what will the process be for them, especially regarding their relocation to other EU countries?
  • How long do we expect this process will take?

The population that we have on board is particularly fragile and we have already identified some extremely vulnerable people that need specific attention. Most of them are travelling in groups and need to know what is going to happen with the relocation. The people we have on board are anxious and I firmly believe that it will facilitate the disembarkation if we can prepare them accordingly and are able to transparently inform them regarding the above questions.

A full medical report is ready to be sent to competent health authorities. Could you please forward me the contact details of the correct authority?

Kind regards,”