''Lifeline'' is a small rescue boat, formerly an inshore

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

research vessel A research vessel (RV or R/V) is a ship or boat designed, modified, or equipped to carry out research at sea. Research vessels carry out a number of roles. Some of these roles can be combined into a single vessel but others require a dedicated ...

of the

Fisheries Research Services Fisheries Research Services (FRS) was an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government. FRS was responsible for scientific and technical research into the marine and freshwater fisheries and aquaculture, and the protection of the aquatic enviro ...

currently seized by

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

authorities due to disputed ownership, ship classification, home port documentation and flag registration. The captain, appeared in a Maltese court charged with commanding an improperly registered ship and was released on a 10,000-euro bail.

History

''Clupea'' was commissioned in 1968. Measuring 32 m (100 ft) and

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

3.5 m (11 ft 6 in), she is a good size for conducting research inside the constricted space of a

sea loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

. For research in offshore areas and the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. A sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Se ...

, the larger, more modern, was used. ''Clupea'' was replaced by after the latter's launch in 2008. She has been sold to a private company.

''Clupea''

As ''Clupea'' she was equipped with winches, reel drums and an A-frame, allowing her to tow a range of

fishing gear Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. Deck cranes allow the deployment of water sampling equipment and benthic grabs. She was based at the port of

Fraserburgh Fraserburgh (; ), locally known as the Broch, is a town in Aberdeenshire (unitary), Aberdeenshire, Scotland, with a population recorded in the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census as 13,100. It lies in Buchan in the northeastern corner of th ...

and operated mainly on the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

west coast on behalf of the

Scottish Executive The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in t ...

. As a small vessel requiring space for equipment and laboratories, ''Clupea'' had only accommodation for four

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

, six

crew A crew is a body or a group of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchy, hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the ta ...

and six

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

As ''Sea-Watch 2''

In 2015 ''Clupea'' was sold to the German NGO

Sea-Watch Sea-Watch is a German non-governmental organisation that operates in the Mediterranean Sea, notably by commissioning ships to rescue migrants. History On 6 November 2017, the crew of a Sea-Watch ship rescued 58 people in an operation hindered b ...

, who started a civil sea rescue service for refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean. The vessel was renamed ''Sea-Watch 2'' in March 2016 and has been used for

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

(SAR) missions.

As ''Lifeline''

In autumn 2016, the NGO Sea Watch sold the ship to Mission Lifeline e.V., a

service club A service club or service organization is a Volunteering, voluntary nonprofit organization where members meet regularly to perform Charity (practice), charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. ...

based in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. Its name now is ''Lifeline''. In June 2018, the ''Lifeline'' (with 239 migrants on board) was in the media as one of the ships being forbidden to enter an Italian harbour.

Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of F ...

, then

Italian Minister of the Interior The minister of the interior (Italian: ''ministro dell'interno'') in Italy is one of the most important positions in the Council of Ministers (Italy), Italian Council of Ministers and leads the Ministry of the Interior (Italy), Ministry of the ...

( Conte Cabinet), had ordered this blocking. Netherlands Minister

Cora van Nieuwenhuizen Cornelia "Cora" van Nieuwenhuizen-Wijbenga (; ; born 12 June 1963) is a Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD). She served as Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management in the Third Rutte cabinet from 2017 t ...

declared in late June 2018, that the ''Lifeline'' does not operate under the Netherlands flag. According to the statement, the existing registration of the vessel with the

Koninklijk Nederlands Watersport Verbond The Royal Netherlands Watersport Association () is the national governing body for the sports of sailing, surfing, and canoeing in the Netherlands, recognised by World Sailing, the global governing body for the sport of sailing. History The org ...

was only a proof of ownership, which did not make the Netherlands the

flag state The flag state of a merchant vessel is the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is Ship registration, registered or licensed, and is deemed the nationality of the vessel. A merchant vessel must be registered and can only be registered in one j ...

for the ''Lifeline''. The ''Lifeline'' was impounded by the Maltese authorities in summer 2018. In January 2020, captain Claus-Peter Reisch had his conviction for entering Maltese waters 'without the necessary registration or licence' quashed and a €10,000 fine revoked.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lifeline (ship) Research vessels of the United Kingdom Fishing vessels of the United Kingdom Ships built in Aberdeen Ships built by Hall, Russell & Company 1968 ships