Golfo Azzurro


The North Sea trawler MS Golfo Azzurro was launched in 1987 as the Maarten Cornelis, and was the first trawler in the Netherlands equipped with the EUR sumwing.

Career

As the TX 33 Maarten Cornelis she was used to test the sumwing which caused less soil disturbance than traditional beam trawl because the wing hovers above the ground when fished. It also used less fuel than traditional trawling.
In 2010 the ship was leased by the Golfo Azzurro Foundation who partnered with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and, using funds from the Brigitte Bardot Foundation, used the ship for covert surveillance operations in the Danish Protectorate of the Faroe Islands.
On August 17 the ship was boarded and searched by the Danish Police and then let go under escort by the Royal Danish Navy. Denmark's Thetis class frigate Triton was assigned to monitor their actions.
In June 2016 the Golfo Azzurro has invited the 'Boat Refuge Foundation', a Dutch foundation, to go for a search and rescue for saving boat refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. The vessel is managed by Adrian J. Sonneveld, Captain and shipmanager. The Search and Rescue operation is managed by the Italian Coastguard. Golfo Azzuro will be operated under the Panama Flag. The Boat Refuge Foundation will charter the vessel for a symbolic price. The board of the Golfo Azzurro Foundation based in Rotterdam.
In December 2016 the NGO Proactiva Open Arms chartered the Golfo Azzurro, and started with the Golfo Azzurro the search and rescue near Libyan waters. At that time Pro Activa Open Arms did already successful search and rescue with the sailing vessel ASTRAL.
During the search and rescue in the Mediterranean, sinds August 2016 until August 2017, the Golfo Azzurro rescued over 8500 man women and children, and supported other NGO's with about 1500 people in distress.
During the first months of search and rescue René Hazenkamp from the Netherlands made a docu-movie about the Golfo Azzurro and her crew. This movie, GANGWAY TO A FUTURE, went in premiere in January 2018 at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.