The artist Banksy has funded a rescue boat to save migrants encountering danger in the Mediterranean Sea.
The boat, that has been named the Louise Michel, was bought with proceeds from some of the Bristol street artist’s works.
The Louise Michel is named after a 19th Century French anarchist and is captained by a professional crew with a “flat hierarchy and a vegan diet”.
According to reports, It has already carried out a number of rescue missions, taking on board 89 people from a rubber boat on Tuesday.
The vessel features a painting depicting a young girl holding on to a heart-shaped safety float.
Banksy repainted the former French Navy boat in distinctive white and pink and launched it under its new guise last week.
The vessel’s mission statement is “to uphold maritime law and rescue anyone in peril without prejudice”.
“We on board the Louise Michel believe we are all individuals, nationality should not make a difference to what rights one has and how we treat each other,” it says on its website.
“We answer the SOS call of all those in distress, not just to save their souls – but our own.”
According to UN data, 443 people have died or gone missing attempting to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa so far in 2020 with over 40,000 having arrived in Europe by sea during the same period.
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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