Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1283588
3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 AUGUST 2020 NEWS The Chief Execu ve Officer, Malta Industrial Parks Ltd (MIP), no fies that sealed offers will be received for: MIP/BDU/TQL/003/2020 - CALL FOR TENDERS FOR THE GRANT ON EMPHYTEUSIS OF A SITE SITUATED AT TA' QALI CRAFTS VILLAGE Interested par es may download a copy of the tender document from www.mip.com.mt. Proposals should be made in line with the relevant condi ons included in the tender document. A par cipa on fee of five hundred euro (€500) applies. Submissions will be received in sealed packages, clearly marked with the relevant reference number, in the tender box situated at the MIP offices located in the address below, by not later than: 10:00 a.m. of Tuesday, 29 th September, 2020 Malta Industrial Parks Ltd 88, Msida Valley Road, Birkirkara, BKR9020 www.mip.com.mt Call for Tenders MATTHEW AGIUS IT is crucial that other EU Member States provide more support to countries at the fore- front of receiving sea arrivals in the Mediterranean, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization of Migration (IOM) said yester- day. The two organisations are calling for the immediate dis- embarkation of more than 400 rescued migrants and refugees currently on board three vessels in the Central Mediterranean. "Meaningful solidarity should be expressed through the pledg- ing and implementation of relo- cation places as well as support for accelerated processing, in line with international stand- ards, to identify persons in need of international protection and those in need of other forms of protection like unaccompanied children and victims of traffick- ing. It is also important to ena- ble swift returns for those who wish to go back to their coun- tries of origin and for those who are found not in need of inter- national or other forms of pro- tection." UNHCR and IOM expressed their deep concern about the continued absence of dedicated EU-led search and rescue ca- pacity in the Central Mediter- ranean. With relatively fewer NGO vessels compared to pre- vious years, the gap is being in- creasingly filled by commercial vessels. "It is vital that they are permitted to disembark rescued passengers promptly, as with- out such timely processes, ship- masters of commercial vessels may be deterred from attending to distress calls for fear of being stranded at sea for weeks on end." A group of some 27 migrants and refugees, including preg- nant women and children who departed from Libya, have been on board the commercial ves- sel Maersk Etienne for a three- week period since their rescue on 5 August. Describing the situation as "unacceptable," the agency said a solution must be found, and the vessel provided with a safe port for disembarka- tion. "A commercial tanker cannot be considered a suitable place to keep people in need of human- itarian assistance or those who may need international protec- tion. Appropriate COVID-19 prevention measures can be im- plemented once they reach dry land." Another 200 other rescued refugees and migrants are in urgent need of transfer and disembarkation from the NGO search and rescue vessel Louise Michel, which is currently far beyond its safe carrying capac- ity, after having intervened in a rescue earlier this week. Delays could jeopardise the safety of all people onboard, including its crew members, said the UN- HCR. A further 200 rescued people are on the Sea Watch 4 NGO vessel, which also required a safe port. "The humanitarian imperative of saving lives should not be pe- nalised or stigmatised, especial- ly in the absence of dedicated state-led efforts," it said. The lack of agreement on a regional disembarkation mech- anism, long called for by UN- HCR and IOM, is not an excuse to deny vulnerable people a port of safety and the assistance they need, as required under interna- tional law, argued the UNHCR. It called for the urgent revival of stalled discussions around such a proposal, especially amid re- peated stand-offs delaying dis- embarkation. Etienne impasse 25 days after she rescued two dozen migrants off the coast of Libya, the product tanker Maersk Etienne remains an- chored off Malta, awaiting permission to complete the evolution and disembark the survivors. On 4 August, Maersk Etienne responded to a call for assis- tance from a small boat about 70nm north of Abu Kammash, Libya. Upon the instructions of Maltese rescue coordination of- ficials, the vessel took the boat's 27 occupants aboard and got under way for Malta to com- plete the evolution. Though the vessel was asked to conduct the rescue by Malta, Malta has not yet given it permission to dis- embark the rescuees. Banksy sponsors rescue vessel Despite COVID-19, NGO-op- erated rescue vessels have re- sumed operations in the waters off Libya, and a new addition to their ranks arrived this week courtesy of well-known British artist Banksy. The artist financed the purchase of a 100-foot res- cue boat, registered as a pleas- ure craft and flagged in Germa- ny. The newly-renamed Louis Michel is a former French Na- vy vessel capable of making 28 knots at top speed, according to her operators. Banksy contacted German rescue captain and activist Pia Klemp to head the operation. "I've made some work about the migrant crisis, obviously I can't keep the money. Could you use it to buy a new boat or something? Please let me know," Banksy wrote her in a brief mes- sage shared with The Guardian. Klemp, a self-described an- ti-fascist, told the paper that she selected a fast vessel in order to outpace the EU-funded Lib- yan Coast Guard. The agency typically arrests migrants and returns them to government de- tention centers, where they face a well-documented risk of abuse. On Friday, several days into her first mission in the Central Med- iterranean, the Louis Michel was waiting off Libya with 219 res- cued migrants aboard. In a Twit- ter post, her operator asked for immediate assistance from the Italian and Maltese coast guards, reporting that radio calls for help had gone unanswered. UNHCR calls on EU states to support Malta on migration The Maersk tanker Etienne. Photo: Sea-Watch