Prayer Alert: Migrant ‘Ghost Ships’ Abandoned at Sea Laura Gish - 17 Feb 2015

In recent months, thousands of people seeking refuge from war-torn Syria, where almost 200,000 people have been killed and millions displaced have been found on large, crewless freighters in the Mediterranean Sea.

Smugglers have found a new, wholesale means of transporting refugees who have fled to Turkey. They buy derelict freighters ready for salvage, pack their holds with refugees at $4,000-$8,000 per head, then set sail in the Mediterranean, pointed toward southern Europe. After the voyage is underway, the crew abandons the ship, leaving the refugees on their own.

The type of cargo ship that the smugglers would have been using 

Recently, a ship was set on autopilot running full speed across the sea unable to be stopped. Fortunately, the vessel ran out of gas. When rescue crews boarded, they discovered 359 illegal migrants on board. Another freighter, with 970 people locked in the rusty hold, was found adrift near Greece. Refugees from other countries are equally desperate to escape the conflict and poverty. Some still use small boats. Just this week, as many as 300 people drowned trying to escape their war-torn land in rubber dinghys. 

It’s a heartbreaking situation. People take their life savings and put their family on a ship or boat, hoping to escape the danger of their homelands. The risks they take to escape often prove deadly.

This perilous form of human trafficking has become a profitable business for organized criminals, who fear getting caught with banned cargo, such as drugs or weapons. People smuggling, an international crime, is on the rise. Last year a record number of refugees, 15.8 million, sought to relocate their families across international borders.  

Your prayers are needed!

• Ask God to provide safety to those seeking refuge, who are willing to risk their lives through this perilous travel.
• Pray for peace, salvation and restoration for individuals seeking asylum. May they find shelter in legal, peaceful living conditions.
• Pray that these smugglers are identified and their criminal activity stopped. Please pray for these asylum seekers to be intercepted, rescued and restored.

All images are used by permission in accordance with commons copyright license terms: Feature image is a derivative of the images 'Hong Kong - 2011 (7 of 18)' by Stephen Cruso