Siem Platform Supply Vessel Rescues Over 600 Migrants in Mediterranean

Siem Pilot file photo courtesy Siem Offshore AS

A Norwegian offshore vessel rescued over 600 migrants from two wooden boats on Monday in the southern Mediterranean Sea.

The migrants, including several pregnant women, were helped onboard Siem Offshore’s platform supply vessel Siem Pilot, marking the first rescue of its kind for the vessel.

The 2010-built Siem Pilot joined the EU rescue mission Operation Triton earlier this month under a contract with the Norwegian government. Operation Triton is led by Italy and coordinated by the EU border control agency Frontex to help manage the unprecedented number of migrants trying reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.

Monday’s rescue was announced by Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service, aka Kripos. The service said that there were no casualties or serious injuries among the more than 600 migrants.

In April, the European Union agreed to triple its funding to Operation Triton after as many as 900 migrants died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coast.

The video below shows part of the rescue:

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