Exemplifying Brutal New Trend, Hundreds of Refugees Cast Adrift Off Italian Coast

A ship carrying over 450 migrants, most believed to be Syrian refugees, was rescued by Italian vessels from the Mediterranean Sea on Friday after it was abandoned by its crew in rough waters, set on a collision course for the Italian coast.

The incident marks the second time in just four days that a vessel loaded with migrants and refugees has been ditched by its crew in the Mediterranean—a body of water that has become a “graveyard” for those seeking refuge as European countries heighten restrictions while cutting relief for refugees amid skyrocketing displacement.

According to statements from Italian Coast Guard Commander Filippo Marini, the abandoned ship, named Ezideen and bearing a Sierra Leone flag, was secured and towed to Italy on Friday.

The vessel, which is believed to have embarked from a Turkish port, had been floating, without power, approximately 40 nautical miles from the coast of southern Italy. The coastguard says the ship had been directed towards the coast but then had run out of fuel.

The repeated abandonment of large vessels at sea is believed to be a brutal “new strategy” employed by human traffickers.

On Wednesday, a Moldova-registered ship carrying approximately 800 migrants, a majority of them also Syrian refugees, was abandoned by its crew and towed to Italy. Two weeks ago, a ship carrying 850 migrants was abandoned by its crew before it was aided by the Italian navy and taken to Sicily, according to media reports. The fate and location of the at least 2,100 people aboard all three of these ships is not immediately clear.