Our professional and specialist crew is an important part of what makes MOAS the field-leading organization it has become. We are proud of our team on the front lines and we are constantly getting questions about the kind of people we have on board and the various positions they fill. This new weekly profile will introduce you to members of our team and give you an insight into their background and role on board.
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This week we have look through the window into the life of our Able-Bodied Seaman Joseph.
“My name is Joseph and I’m an Able-Bodied Seaman on board the Responder. In some respects, my role is the same as an able-bodied seaman in the Merchant Navy: handling ropes, mooring, standing watch, and taking care of maintenance on the deck. But in the case of MOAS, when it comes to rescues we assist in the transfer of migrants from their boats to our ships. We also take care of disembarkation and safety on deck, and help make sure the migrants have the things they need – water, food etc. – once they are on board.
We had a specific rescue recently which really stands out for me, involving a speedboat that had come from Libya. One person on board had a shattered leg, and another was paraplegic and had his wheelchair with him. When we approached on the Fast Rescue Daughter Craft (FRDC) – our rescue launch – we were quite surprised to see the wheelchair strapped to the front of the boat. It was the first time we had rescued someone with this type of condition.
Everyone else was fine, so we began by evacuating the people without serious health issues. We then had to do a complex rescue to transfer the paraplegic person from the speedboat to our vessel. This is where the crews’ skills from all our work before really came in useful. It was good to use the techniques I’ve learned in my previous experience, and between us we got him out safely and efficiently. It worked well.”
See Joseph at work in the video below:
If you have a question for Joseph, or the rest of our team, simply #AskMOAS on social media. For all the MOAS news and updates sign up to our newsletter at the bottom of this page. Finally, support our rescue missions by giving whatever you can to help us save lives at sea.