Ocean Viking under fire; EU Commission stays silent and awaits response from Libya

Brussels – There were gunshots for 20 minutes, calls for help by phone and radio, interviews, testimonies, photos, and videos. Still, the European Commission has no idea what happened and is turning to the Libyan authorities to find out.

In the early afternoon of Sunday, the Libyan Coast Guard targeted the Ocean Viking, a ship of SOS Mediterranee. A patrol boat (among other things donated by Italy in 2023, which also received EU funding for this) approached it while it had 87 shipwrecked people on board who had been picked up at sea (with all the necessary authorizations). After a brief exchange via radio, the Libyans started firing at the NGO ship, and continued to do so with hundreds of rounds for 20 minutes as it fled northwards.

 According to the NGO, the attack caused bullet holes at head height, the destruction of multiple antennas, and four broken windows on the bridge, while several bullets hit and damaged the three RHIBS (fast rescue boats), along with other rescue equipment.

However, according to the European Commission, what happened is unclear. They have heard about an “accident,” but they do not know what actually happened. “We have spoken to the Libyan authorities and are waiting for them to explain what happened,” a spokesman said today, managing to keep a straight face. Then, pressed by journalists, he added that “we are establishing the facts, we cannot talk about the possible consequences already now.” Explicitly asked, the spokesman added that the Commission is in contact “with all parties” in this affair, including the NGOs, therefore. 

Journalists insist on asking whether the Commission trusts the Libyan authorities, but the spokesman and his boss, Paula Pinho, are good at not answering. Only Pinho adds that “this is a worrying event, which does not leave us indifferent.”