A rescue ship carrying 356 people, mostly Africans, rescued in the Mediterranean off Libya is nearing two weeks at sea without being assigned a safe port to offload its traumatized passengers — a situation one charity worker decried as "the new normal" as Europe fails to devise a systematic response.
It is inhumane," Jay Berger, project coordinator for Doctors Without Borders on the ship, the Ocean Viking, said by satellite phone Thursday.
The Ocean Viking conducted four rescues off Libya from Aug. 9-12, and is in its 13th day without being permitted to disembark the rescued people in a safe harbor, as dictated by maritime law.