Louise Michel is the name of the former French patrol boat Suroît, originally built for the Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes. It was refitted in 2020 to patrol rescue zones in the Mediterranean Sea.
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | |
| Builder | Chantier naval de l'Estérel, Cannes |
| Commissioned | 1988 |
| Refit | 2020 |
| Identification |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Avel Gwalarn-class patrol boat |
| Displacement | 67 t (66 long tons) |
| Length | 30.35 m (99 ft 7 in) |
| Beam | 5.80 m (19 ft 0 in) |
| Draught | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Propulsion | 2 x SACM UD23 V12 with 810 kW (1,086 hp) each[1] |
| Speed | 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph) |
| Complement |
|
History
editSuroît
edit
Suroît was commissioned in 1988 as one of two Avel Gwalarn-class patrol boats built by the Estérel shipyard in Cannes. The hull was planked with three layers of mahogany wood. The vessel was christened by French biathlete Emmanuelle Claret[2] and put in service by the Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes with the pennant number DF 42.[3]
The ship was stationed at the French Atlantic coast in Royan. In 2014 the crew had spent about 2,000 hours at sea, performing inspections of 150 vessels in the vicinity of the Île d'Yeu.[4]
In July 2016 an article about the restructuring of the French customs service naval branch mentioned that Suroît would not be repaired and transitionally anchored in La Rochelle.[5] The closing of the Royan customs brigade itself became effective on 30 September 2018.[6]
Suroît was sold to an anonymous bidder, who intended to put together a crew of professional rescuers.[7]
Louise Michel
editThe ship was transferred to Camaret-sur-Mer and activists started repair and refit in 2020. They assured the public they were not planning to bring any migrant boats to Camaret-sur-Mer and claimed not to be associated with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs),[7] but Italian media classified the group as a spin-off of the German Sea-Watch NGO.[8]
The newspaper La Stampa associated street artist and activist Banksy with Louise Michel, citing sources and referring to artwork on the ship.[8] Banksy had announced in 2019 that he intended to buy a rescue ship.[9]
Financer Banksy had recruited activist and veteran NGO-captain Pia Klemp for Louise Michel's first mission, The Guardian revealed on 27 August 2020 shortly after the ship's crew had picked up 89 migrants. The crew on this first mission consisted of 10 activists, who all identify as anti-racist and anti-fascist. Other crewmembers named were Lea Reisner and Claire Faggianelli, both associated with Sea-Watch and other rescue organisations in the past.[10]
In the summer of 2020 Louise Michel was initially docked at the Spanish port of Burriana along other NGO vessels. When the larger Sea-Watch 4 left Burriana in late August, she met with Louise Michel near the Libyan coast. The crew of Louise Michel had taken seven migrants on board. The migrants were transferred to Sea-Watch 4.[8]
On 28 August the activists had picked up another 130 migrants, putting the crew of 10 in charge of 219 people. The crew sent out a distress call asking Italian and Maltese coast guards for help, stating on Twitter that one person was dead and Louise Michel had become disabled by a life raft towed to its side.[11][12] The next day, the Italian coast guard arrived and evacuated those most in need of assistance: 32 women, 13 children and 4 men were transferred to a coast guard vessel from Lampedusa. By that time, Louise Michel's fellow rescue ships Sea-Watch 4 and Mare Ionio were also on the way to assist.[13] After transferring all migrants over to other vessels, Louise Michel headed for the Balearic Islands, arriving in Mallorca in the first week of September.[14] On 22 October 2020 the activists made public that they are not allowed to continue their mission, because their registration is being disputed.[15]
In early 2022, the crew conducted several rescue operations.[16] In March 2023, after four rescue missions in the Mediterranean, the Louise Michel brought around 180 migrants to the Italian island of Lampedusa. The ship was detained in port by Italian authorities on March 25 for violating a new law that prohibits the crew from conducting multiple rescue operations without going to port after the first one.[17] In July 2024, the ship was detained after rescuing 37 people.[18]
Louise Michel left Spain in late June 2024, made a quick stop at the Tunisian port of Hammamet before heading to its planned rescue zone in international waters.[19] On 1 July 2024 the crew assisted 36 migrants and was ordered by the Italian coastguard to proceed to the port of Pozzallo. Due to bad weather the crew decided to seek shelter close to Lampedusa and then asked for permission to land the migrants there. According to the activists, that permission was granted, but on 3 July Italian authorities impounded Louise Michel for deviating from disembarking at Pozzallo.[20] For its 20 day impoundment, the ship was sent to the Sicilian port of Licata.[21]
References
edit- ^ "Vedette Louise Michel – ex patrouilleur des douanes" [Launch Louise Michel - ex customs patroller]. presqu-ile-de-crozon.com (in French). Retrieved 23 August 2020.
- ^ Dans le Sillage des Bateaux – e la Ryviere der Bourdeaulx, Patrimoine Navigant en Charente Maritime, (tr. "In the Wake of the Boats – of the Bordeaux River, Sailing Heritage in Charente Maritime") 2008, p. 30[dead link]
- ^ "La flotte française en 2008" [The French fleet in 2008]. netmarine.net (in French). 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Chérel, Ronan (19 February 2015). "Royan (17) : un nouveau commandant à la barre de la vedette des Douanes maritimes" [Royan (17): a new commander at the helm of the Maritime Customs]. Sud Ouest (in French). Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Dupont-Dutilloy, Eric (8 July 2016). "Ne pas faire les choses en vrac" [Don't do things in bulk] (PDF). cgtdouanes.fr (in French). Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ "Fermeture de la brigade de surveillance nautique de la Trinité-sur-Mer et de la brigade garde-côtes de Royan" [Closure of the nautical surveillance brigade of Trinité-sur-Mer and the coastguard brigade of Royan] (Press release) (in French). douane.gouv.fr. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ a b "Solidaires Info AéroMaritime (SIAM) – Mai / Juin 2020" solidaires-douanes.org, 2020
- ^ a b c Albanese, Fabio (22 August 2020). "Il genio e i soldi di Banksy in una barca per aiutare i migranti in difficoltà" [Banksy's genius and money in a boat to help migrants in need]. La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Estiler, Keith (1 October 2019). "Banksy Opens Up The GrossDomesticProduct™ Homeware Store in London". hypebeast.com. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
- ^ Tondo, Lorenzo & Stierl, Maurice (27 August 2020). "Banksy funds refugee rescue boat operating in Mediterranean". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Banksy-funded boat nears 'state of emergency' as it shelters 200 people". The Guardian. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ ""Louise Michel": Manövrierunfähiges Rettungsschiff bittet um Hilfe" ["Louise Michel": Unmanoeuverable rescue ship asks for help]. evangelisch.de. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Italienische Küstenwache kommt Banksy-Schiff zu Hilfe" [Italian coast guard comes to aid Banksy ship]. br.de (in German). 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
- ^ "Banksys Rettungsschiff legt in Palma an" [Banksy's rescue ship docks in Palma]. mallorcazeitung.es. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Migranti, c'è il fermo amministrativo per la Sea-Watch 4 che blocca i salvataggi: e nel Mediterraneo si continua a morire" [Migrants, there is an administrative stop for the Sea-Watch 4 that blocks rescues: and in the Mediterranean people continue to die]. La Repubblica. 23 October 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Louise Michel ist zurück im Mittelmeer. Dreimal so viele brutale Pushbacks wie im Vorjahr" [Louise Michel is back in the Mediterranean. Three times as many brutal pushbacks as in the previous year]. www.seebruecke.org. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "Italien setzt deutschen Seenotretter Louise Michel fest" [Italy arrests German sea rescuer Louise Michel]. n-tv.de. March 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "Banksy-funded migrant rescue boat detained in Italy after saving 37 people | Refugees | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "Louise Michel migrant rescue ship impounded in Italy". ilgiornale.it. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ^ "Louise Michel migrant rescue ship impounded in Italy". infomigrants.net. 4 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
- ^ "La nave ong "Louise Michel" è a Licata". infomigrants.net. 10 July 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
