The owner of the C Star — the vessel hired by controversial right-wing group Defend Europe amid allegations it will be used to disrupt the work of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in helping migrants safely cross the Mediterranean Sea — says the ship’s crew will abide by the laws of the sea.

Concern is growing that the 500-gross-ton (gt) research vessel is intent on stopping NGO rescue operations and that will add to the burden on merchant shipping in the region.

Defend Europe was set up by Generation Identity, an extremist group described as “a movement of young, anti-Islam and anti-immigration activists from across Europe”.

Lobby group Human Rights at Sea claims the C Star’s intention is to sail to Libya “where through ‘direct action’ it would prevent search-and-rescue NGOs from undertaking their humanitarian role in saving life at sea, as well as returning migrants and refugees to the coast of Libya against the international law rule of ‘non-refoulement’".

Under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (Solas), ships have a legal obligation to rescue people “found and in danger of being lost at sea".

The vessel is currently off Catania, Sicily, where the authorities are considering banning it from its port.

Sven Thomas Egerstrom, director at Global Maritime Services, the Cardiff-based owner of the C Star, says such action will run the risk of him losing the vessel. 

“It is my master and my crew on the ship. I would not let that happen,” he told TradeWinds.

Egerstrom attempted to justify the charter, saying that the vessel’s charterer had told him it simply wanted to monitor the actions of NGOs and report any suspected illegality.

He said the group had a “clear mission to monitor how NGOs operate. I cannot find fault with that”.

Defend Europe itself says its intention is to expose illegal work of NGOs in assisting traffickers by reporting incidents to the Libyan authorities. It said it would respond to any SOS from migrants.

“We will of course save the people in distress — and hand them over to the Libyan Coast Guard to make sure that they are brought to the closest harbour, according to international law, ” it said in a statement.

However, the UK protection-and-indemnity (P&I) club is concerned that the work of NGOs may be affected by Defend Europe and that would increase pressure on commercial shipping to conduct search and rescue.

In a loss-prevention note issued this week, the mutual warned: “There are also potential problems on the horizon with the Defend Europe movement, a right-wing group, who may try to stop the work of NGO vessels – which could place additional pressure on the commercial operators.”

The UK Club says the ending of the joint governmental search-and-rescue operation called Mare Nostrum in the Mediterranean has already increased pressure on NGOs and merchant shipping to fill the gap.

The summer months typically represent the peak of migrants attempting to make the crossing to Europe.

It is estimated around 93,000 people have made the crossing from Libya to Italy so far this year and around 2,200 people have died in the process.

Egerstrom is also the founder of security firm Sea Marshals, a company that specialises in providing anti-pirate and other security services to commercial shipping.

Sea Marshals and Global Maritime Services both operate from the same Cardiff address.

Egerstrom confirms he is a director of both companies but tells TradeWinds that there is no ownership connection between the security firm and the C Star.

“The Marshals Group or any of its subsidiaries does not own or charter any vessels at all,” he said.

Port-state-control database Equasis indicates that the C Star is registered in Mongolia and has P&I insurance with The Shipowners’ Club.