Photographer Page

Kevin McElvaney

Search and Rescue crewmembers attempt to relax between rescue operations. The thirty crewmembers take care of up to 722 refugees, the maximum number the ship has transferred to Italy (the boat's planned capacity is only 450).

Fours after the rescue operation began, all 112 refugees are safe on board the Aquarius. They cover themselves in blankets and new clothes provided by SOS Mediterranee. Women and children are in a separate shelter.

Kim Danielle Noisex, a Canadian nurse from Médecines Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders), takes care of a child. Twenty-five women and seven children were saved during the rescue operation.

The Italian Coast Guard, in protective suits, approach the ship to transfer the refugees to their final destination in Pozzalo, Sicily, so the Aquarius can return to the rescue zone more quickly.

Huddled on the rescue RHIB on their way to the Aquarius, a Syrian child rests in the care of a Pakistani man as the child's mother sits nearby, holding a screaming baby. Others nearby reach out to help calm the baby.

The MS Aquarius navigates southbound towards the search-and-rescue (SAR) zone off Libya, where it will be the only civic rescue ship operating during the winter months. While en route, the ship receives the first SOS call and begins to travel to the estimated location as quickly as possible.

Rescue workers in a small RHIB provide life jackets to refugees in advance of their rescue, should any of them decide to jump or fall off the boat before they can be rescued. The larger ship stays out of sight to prevent refugees from jumping and attempting to swim toward it.

The MS Aquarius spots this dinghy in distress with 112 people on board, just as it begins to rain. A small boat, or RHIB, sent from the Aquarius, attempts to calm the people on board until help arrives. The dinghy had been at sea for 14 hours, departing under cover of darkness to avoid the Libyan Coast Guard.

A vehicle for exodus, the Aquarius also provides many refugees with the opportunity to tell their stories and face the past for the first time since leaving home. Cultural mediators help the refugees get in touch with specialized organizations in Italy.

As the waves climb higher and rain grows stronger, Nicola Stalla, deputy rescue coordinator, takes control of the rescue operation. Women and children, who were previously hidden on the bottom of the boat, are rescued. Other refugees clamber to be the next ones to disembark their doomed dinghy.