Regina Catrambone.

When two back-to-back shipwrecks off Lampedusa killed more than 700 asylum seekers in 2013, Christopher and Regina Catrambone decided they wanted to do something about it.

Earlier in June they were holidaying there, when Pope Francis made the tiny Italian island his first stop outside Rome to decry the “shameful” deaths of so many people. They were moved by the experience and an idea started to germinate.

When the twin shipwrecks happened in October, they were decided: “I remember... we were listening to the mass on Rai Uno and Papa Francesco launched an appeal.

“He said, that this is like a second Olocausto (Holocaust),” Ms Catrambone says with an endearing Calabrian accent. “I remember he had a message for all entrepreneurs, for all people, to do something. He didn’t mean do something as in write a cheque but he meant put your capability, put your heart, put your knowledge at the service of your brother and sister. And help them. So we looked at each other and thought... we have to do something.”

Next month they will be making good on their word with the launch in Malta of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station  (MOAS), the first ever privately-funded sea rescue operation.

Former Armed Forces chief heads operation

Over the past nine months or so, they have spent millions of euros from their own pocket (the final cost of the expense is still being worked out) to purchase and equip a 43-metre vessel, the Phoenix1, which will set sail for the central routes navigated by migrants, manned by a professional crew that includes paramedics.

The vessel, which was brought over from the US, has been modified for its new purpose and equipped with rigid-hull dinghies, like those seen on military vessels, but also with two small unmanned helicopters with mounted cameras. The cam-copters can be controlled from onboard, giving the Phoenix1 eyes in the sky over a vast area at sea.

Martin Xuereb. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi

The man in charge of the operation, former commander of the Armed Forces, Martin Xuereb, says the aircraft are really the heart of the operation.

The vessel will be out at sea, near the hotspots, for missions lasting around two-weeks per trip.

This means that Phoenix1’s helicopters could be hovering over a vessel in distress and assessing the situation probably, before anyone else.

“Every vessel has a legal obligation to save lives at sea, we have made that our mission,” Brigadier Xuereb points out.

“The authorities will know where we are and they know what capabilities we have on board so if there is a request for us to send one of our cam-copters to travel 50 miles and provide them with pictures, we will do it,” he says.

But MOAS will also be carrying out surveillance of its surrounding areas and possibly anticipate problems before they occur.

“We could send the aircraft and determine that some people on a particular boat need life jackets, blankets or water. We will provide them with that,” he says. Moreover, paramedics on board will be able to determine whether people on a particular boat are healthy or need to be evacuated.

As a former military man, who has been in the hot seat at the Armed Forces of Malta, he will appreciate that rescue authorities may not welcome the competition. But he nods his head to this point.

“We are most definitely not in competition. Our final aim is to save lives and people do not compete on this, people cooperate... MOAS will not be a militant NGO trying to prove a point out at sea, instead, it will be an extension of what there is,” he says.

The vessel could still get itself into sticky legal situations, like the diplomatic stand-off that had taken place in April 2009 when Malta and Italy quarrelled over who should take some 140 migrants that had been rescued by the Turkish-owned cargo ship, the Pinar-E.

“With the Pinar E the issue was not with the rescue but with disembarkation,” he underlines. “That is why we will inform the rescue operation centre at all times and it will be up to them to decide where we take any migrants rescued.”

Effectively, things have changed a lot since then, especially after the Lampedusa tragedies, which saw both Italy and Malta step up their efforts. Italy, in particular, has been scooping up the grand majority of migrants rescued this year after it launched an unprecedented rescue operation.

More lives have been saved than ever before but Rome is starting to buckle under the pressure of its economic crisis and has warned the EU it would not be able to carry the weight much longer – unconfirmed reports say operation Mare Nostrum, as it was christened, has already cost some €9 billion. So why step into a role which many regard as the responsibility of the military and instead spend the money on development in Africa? Their reply is immediate.

“There are others who have been doing this good work, international NGOs, the EU, and even member states. It is important work but at the same time people keep dying. We cannot lose sight of that,” Brigadier Xuereb says.

Ms Catrambone is adamant on this point: “We feel that we are already late. You’ll remember a couple of weeks ago 300 people died. To think that we have this boat and this mission... we could have helped save those people.”

People keep dying. We cannot lose sight of that

The team is working on overdrive right now to iron out some last minute logistics that will allow them to finally launch their first mission.

The couple – she is Italian and her husband a US citizen from New Orleans – settled in Malta seven years ago, making it the hub of their specialised insurance business and humanitarian interests.

Mr Catrambone was not able to attend the interview as he is in Nepal with the couple’s daughter to view an orphanage project they plan to sponsor. Some will call them crazy for pouring so much money into something like this but they see it as a duty to start a wave that will hopefully inspire others.

“Maybe they will call us crazy or eccentric, but we wanted to inspire other people to do it. We don’t have infinite resources, but now that the capital has been put in, anyone can contribute.

“You could contribute. You just need to have the motivation and try to achieve what you want for a good cause.”

mmicallef@timesofmalta.com