It could cost up to a maximum of 13.5 million euros to rent a ship, with its crew, for 90 days “to ensure the movement of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean sea” to the port of Shengjin, in Albania. This was reported by Ansa, which reports on the “preliminary market consultation” launched by the Interior Ministry to implement the protocol between Rome and Tirana, with a “three-month” contract at its core, from 15 September to 15 December 2024. A requirement, “non-binding and purely indicative”, can be read in the technical specifications for the service, where the “migrant collection point” is identified “about 15/20 nautical miles south-south/west of the island of Lampedusa “. There is talk of a transport of “around 300 units” (200 migrants and 100 operators), and “three to four trips per month (round trip)”.
The requirements required of ships
Navigation times from the pick-up point to the destination are estimated at “around 50 hours” and in the document from the Ministry of the Interior the duration of each operation is indicated as “5/6 days”, including “the transhipment of migrants, hub activity, transport to Albania, disembarkation activities and return to the area of operations”. Among the requirements required for the ship, there are: the capacity to transport approximately 300 passengers, 200 migrants plus 100 operators; a minimum of 50 cabins, each with a maximum of two beds; a draft (the height of the part of the hull that remains submerged) of less than 5 meters, “adequate for mooring at the port of Shengjin”; a room for screening migrants; one to be used as a security room for the needs of the judicial police; a room for the infirmary; and areas for possible quarantine. “The shipowner management service will be the responsibility of the operator with all obligations and responsibilities”, it is specified. Furthermore, the execution of the service includes the supply of goods and foodstuffs, as well as the preparation of diversified food in relation to religious precepts or any health problems. If the average of 300 units is exceeded for the days of the duration of the contract, an “additional cost per capita of 40 euros/day for the number of excess passengers” will be recognized. “Given the unpredictability of the evolution of migratory flows and therefore the impossibility of quantifying the exact number of necessary crossings”, we read in the last chapter of the document, if the navigation distance for the duration of the contract will be less than 6 thousand miles nautical activities, the rental cost will be reduced by 15%. .
