View source for Ezadeen incident

{{Short description|2015 maritime incident}}
The ''' ''Ezadeen'' incident''' is a maritime incident which took place in very early January 2015 in the [[Ionian Sea]].

==Events==
In October 2014 [[Sierra Leone]]-flagged MV ''Ezadeen'' departed from [[Tartus]], [[Syria]] towards [[Turkey]]. Then it sharply looped back south towards [[Cyprus]]. It arrived at [[Famagusta]], in northern Cyprus in November, and departed from there on 19 December 2014, then sailed north once again towards the Turkey coast before zig-zagging in an area of open water between Turkey and Cyprus. Then it went westwards to the north of [[Crete]], then changed direction and headed northwards along the coast of [[Greece]] before ending up drifting across towards [[Italy]]. There were 360 people on board, all of them [[Syria]]n refugees.<ref name= GuardnEzadeen>{{cite web|title=Smugglers abandon migrant ship off Italy in new tactic to force rescue|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/02/smugglers-abandon-migrant-ship-italy-ezadeen|publisher=The Independent|date=2 January 2015|access-date=3 January 2015}}</ref>

One of the refugees used a radio on board to tell [[Corps of the Port Captaincies – Coast Guard|Italian coastguards]]: “We're without crew, we're heading toward the Italian coast and we have no-one to steer.” The coastguards then boarded the ship and it was towed by an [[Iceland]]ic ship that is part of the [[EU]] [[Frontex]] border control mission to Italian port of [[Corigliano Calabro]]. It arrived there on 2 January 2015 and the migrants were being taken by bus to other parts of Italy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Abandoned migrant ship Ezadeen reaches Italy|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-30653742|publisher=BBC|date=3 January 2015|access-date=3 January 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Abandoned migrant 'ghost ship' arrives in Italy carrying hundreds of Syrian refugees|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/abandoned-ghost-ship-carrying-hundreds-of-syrian-refugees-arrives-safely-in-italy-9955399.html|publisher=The Independent|date=3 January 2015|access-date=3 January 2015}}</ref>

“It’s an extraordinary way to treat people,” said Leonard Doyle, a spokesman for the [[International Organization for Migration]]. “The abandonment of ships in the high seas is a very dangerous thing to do at the best of times and takes the smuggling game to a whole new level that we’ve never seen before.”<ref name= GuardnEzadeen/>

==See also==
*[[Blue Sky M incident]]
*[[Timeline of the European migrant crisis]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord missing|Italy}}
{{2015 shipwrecks}}
{{European migrant crisis}}

[[Category:Maritime incidents in 2015]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in Italy]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents related to the European migrant crisis]]
[[Category:2015 in Italy]]
[[Category:Transport disasters involving refugees of the Arab Winter (2011–present)]]