MADRID, Oct 14 (Reuters) – Spanish humanitarian rescue charity SMH has postponed its next mission in the central Mediterranean until 2027 due to soaring fuel costs, the group said on Wednesday, highlighting the financial pressures facing humanitarian efforts along one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.
SMH, which operates the Aita Mari, a former fishing vessel converted into a rescue ship in 2017, said on X the doubling of fuel prices had forced it to suspend operations in the central Mediterranean and shift activities to waters around Spain’s Valencia coast, and the islands of Mallorca and Menorca.
It also launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover the extra costs.
The central Mediterranean crossing from North Africa to Italy and southern France is one of the world’s most dangerous migrant routes, used by migrants from Africa and the Middle East seeking to reach Europe, often in overcrowded or unseaworthy boats.
Spanish NGO Open Arms said it had also scaled back its central Mediterranean missions in recent years because of rising fuel costs and Italy’s policy of assigning rescue vessels ports in northern Italy. The practice can require ships to sail for two or three days from their operating area, increasing costs and reducing time available for search-and-rescue work.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing, anti-immigration government has repeatedly argued that humanitarian rescue vessels encourage migrants to attempt the crossing.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo, editing by Andrei Khalip, Toby Chopra)
