The ''Blue Sky M'' incident is a maritime incident which took place on 30–31 December 2014 in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including ...

, when a cargo vessel carrying many migrants from Syria and neighbouring states was abandoned by its crew.

Events

In December 2014,

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

n-flagged MV ''Blue Sky M'' left Korfez,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

heading for

Rijeka Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Prim ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

. On 30 December 2014, when the ship was near the island of Othonoi a passenger of the ship called an emergency number for help from a mobile phone. The alarm was raised because of suspected armed people on board,

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

state television reported, claiming that "illegal immigrants" were on the ship. But a coastguard official later said the Greek frigate had contacted the cargo ship's captain, who said the ship was not in any danger and was not requesting assistance. Shortly after this, the vessel changed course and - now headed towards southern Italy - was seemingly abandoned by its crew. As the ship neared

Santa Maria di Leuca Santa Maria di Leuca, often spelled simply Leuca (, from ''Leukos'', "white"), is a '' frazione'' of the '' comune'' of Castrignano del Capo, in the Salento peninsula ( Apulia), southern Italy. A part of the town once belonged to the ''comune'' o ...

, on mainland

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

's southernmost tip, Italian port authorities dispatched two helicopters as a precaution and boarded the ship with a team of six

Italian coast guard Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional ...

officials. The team took control of the ship after realising there was no crew to be found. The Italian coast guard said 970 migrants were on board the ship, mostly believed to be

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

ns fleeing the country's ongoing civil war, although the actual number of migrants was subsequently revised downwards. The migrants paid thousands of dollars each to smugglers to get them to Europe. The smugglers apparently left the ship's controls on

autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...

and then abandoned ship – leaving the ''Blue Sky M'' to head towards the Italian coast. The migrants inside did not know what was going on. Italian coast guard spokesman Filippo Marini was quoted as saying the Italians had averted a disaster by interrupting the programmed route that would have had the ship crash into the shore. "It was a real race against the clock", he said, adding: "Unlocking the engines was a difficult and delicate operation, but they managed to do it." Italian coastguards docked the ship at the Italian port of

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles s ...

. The migrants were taken to local schools and a gymnasium. Thirty-five of them were taken to hospital, with some treated for hypothermia. The

Italian Red Cross The Italian Red Cross (IRC, it, Croce Rossa Italiana or ''CRI'') is the Italian national Red Cross society. The Italian Red Cross was one of the original founding members of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1919. History Early ...

initially said that four people were found dead on the ship but later withdrew its report.

References

{{coord missing, Mediterranean Maritime incidents in 2014 Maritime incidents related to the European migrant crisis 2014 in Italy Transport disasters involving refugees of the Arab Winter (2011–present)

Events

See also

References