MOAS to launch a new rescue mission in the Aegean Sea
Search and rescue charity Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) will launch a new rescue mission in the Aegean Sea where thousands of primarily Syrian refugees continue to cross every week from Turkey to Greece in unsafe vessels.
As the winter season approaches and casualty rates climb, MOAS will position the 51-meter Topaz Responder, a custom-made emergency response vessel in Greek territorial waters to act as a fast response and patrol search and vessel.
The Topaz Responder will host two high-speed rescue vessels on board capable of being launched rapidly or kept on patrol. The two rescue boats will be named Aylan and Galip, in honour of the Kurdi brothers whose deaths shocked the world in September.
MOAS is also establishing a new operation in South East Asia as well as renewing its mission in the central Mediterranean Sea, where the NGO saved almost 12,000 lives since August 2014.
The announcement was made just before the Valletta Summit where EU and African leaders are meeting to discuss migration.
MOAS, which was launched in 2014, began as a small NGO with one vessel, M.Y. Phoenix, which has so far already saved 11,685 people from perilous conditions in the Central Mediterranean.
M.Y. Phoenix will arrive in Bangkok tomorrow where it will undergo repairs and maintenance after which it will be ready for operations by 2016.
