Matthias Monroy

At least two surveillance aircraft on Frontex missions have rescue equipment on board. However, critics speak of a “PR measure”.

Since 2017, Frontex has set up an aerial surveillance service Mediterranean consisting of chartered aircraft and drones. Some of these are now also equipped with rescue systems. This is evidenced by a mission on 24 March in the Central Mediterranean, during which an aircraft apparently dropped a life raft for the first time on behalf of the EU border agency. The tanker “Vault”, registered in Panama, had previously taken 138 people on board whose boat was drifting in the sea with a damaged engine.

The incident in the Maltese rescue zone was first reported by Alarm Phone and the civil sea rescue organisation Sea-Watch. The “Vault” was on its way to Tunisia and received a report from the Sea-Watch aircraft “Seabird” about the boat in the afternoon. According to an incident report available to “nd”, the captain then decided to immediately head for the position of the shipwrecked people. After an hour, the “Vault” reached the boat and distributed food, water and blankets to the on board.

Two hours later, however, the boat suddenly began to lean, according to the report, and some of the occupants then panicked and jumped into the water. Only at this point does the crew of the “Vault” claim to have started to take the people on board. A further two hours later, the Frontex aircraft with the registration “Eagle 1” arrived. At this point, the “Vault” was already on its way to Lampedusa to disembark the rescued people. However, because the crew saw more people floating in the sea, the “Eagle 1” dropped the life raft.

Eight people were discovered in the water from the air, Frontex told “nd”, but in the end there was only one. When asked about the success of the operation, the spokesperson replied that the life raft had played “a crucial role” in the rescue. However, at least three men are believed to have drowned during the operation, according to survivors from Syria, Ethiopia and Bangladesh.

In addition to the “Eagle 1”, Frontex has an even larger aircraft in operation, a twin-engine Dornier, which can also drop rescue equipment. This was confirmed last week by a spokesperson in response to a question from left-wing MEP Özlem Demirel. This aircraft, known as the “Eagle 3” or “Osprey 4”, flies over the Mediterranean as well as the English Channel. Hundreds of people have already drowned there during departures from France and Belgium on their way to the UK. However, there have been no reports of rescue equipment being dropped over the Channel so far.

According to Frontex, the “Eagle 1” has two life rafts for six people each on board in the Mediterranean, while the Dornier has three life rafts for eleven people each. The manufacturer is Survitec from Great Britain.

Frontex regularly renews the framework contract for its aerial surveillance services; according to a tender for the coming year, the deployment of long-range aircraft alone will cost €169 million. The dropping of rescue equipment is also provided for in these contracts.

“For me, Frontex’s use of airdroppable rescue boats is just a facade and serves to present itself as a helpful organisation,” criticises Paul Wagner from the crew of the civilian rescue aircraft “Seabird” when asked by “nd”. He believes that the airborne rescue equipment is a PR measure. “If the EU wanted to save lives, there would be a civilian sea rescue programme with ships,” says the Left Party MEP Demirel.

While Frontex is responsible for the joint migration defence of the 27 EU member states, the Maritime Security Agency (EMSA) is tasked with coordinating their coastguards. Four drones, which can also drop a life raft for eight people each, have been operating on behalf of EMSA since 2021. The agency has extended the framework contract for this “AR5” from Tekever in Portugal until 2025. No deployment has yet been reported.

Published in German in „nd“.

Image: After the crew of the “Vault” failed to take people on board, several people fell from the boat into the water and drowned (Manuel Lossau/ Seabird).