From La Repubblica 16 May 2015 online edition:
The 120-foot ship Phoenix, working for the non-governmental organization MOAS, pulled into the port of Messina, Sicily with 405 migrants aboard.MOAS stands for Migrant Offshore Aid Station. The United States ship belongs to a wealthy couple, Regina and Christopher Catrambone, involved in a philanthropic and humanitarian mission to save refugees and immigrants at sea. Mrs. Catrambone is from Calabria and her husband is Italian-American of Calabrese descent. With the ship Phoenix and two drones, they set out to save people in danger of drowning on their way to southern Europe. Their 20-person staff includes ship's crew, doctors and aid personnel.
The 405 migrants were mostly Eritrean (372) and included 20 Syrians and 8 Ethiopians. who were rescued 14 May just 30 nautical miles from the Libyan coast, between Tripoli and and the western border of Tunisia. The MOAS group had found 561 immigrants packed aboard a 54-foot boat. Two of the rescued people got off at Lampedusa, another 154 transferred to a merchant ship. This was the second Phoenix rescue this year. The first was just ten days ago, when they brought immigrants to Pozzallo, Sicily.
The 120-foot ship Phoenix, working for the non-governmental organization MOAS, pulled into the port of Messina, Sicily with 405 migrants aboard.MOAS stands for Migrant Offshore Aid Station. The United States ship belongs to a wealthy couple, Regina and Christopher Catrambone, involved in a philanthropic and humanitarian mission to save refugees and immigrants at sea. Mrs. Catrambone is from Calabria and her husband is Italian-American of Calabrese descent. With the ship Phoenix and two drones, they set out to save people in danger of drowning on their way to southern Europe. Their 20-person staff includes ship's crew, doctors and aid personnel.
The 405 migrants were mostly Eritrean (372) and included 20 Syrians and 8 Ethiopians. who were rescued 14 May just 30 nautical miles from the Libyan coast, between Tripoli and and the western border of Tunisia. The MOAS group had found 561 immigrants packed aboard a 54-foot boat. Two of the rescued people got off at Lampedusa, another 154 transferred to a merchant ship. This was the second Phoenix rescue this year. The first was just ten days ago, when they brought immigrants to Pozzallo, Sicily.