Hello friends!
We’ll get straight to the point: The Sea Punks are as close to an end as you can get. This time it’s all or nothing.
Hole in the ship: What the hell happened??
Once again things turned out differently than planned. This time it got really shitty – and dangerous, too.
The Sea Punk I had a leak in the port of Augusta during our training week at the end of July, meaning the ship had a hole in the hull. The crew on board is faced with the following situation: from one moment to the next, more and more water is flowing into the engine room. Seconds before they have to evacuate the engine room and the ship, two brave sea punks plug the hole prophylactically with the help of a stick. The crew was then able to professionally stabilize the situation, also thanks to the support of the NGOs ResQ and SOS Humanity. This is how team play prevented worse things from happening! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone involved! You saved our asses!
And now? 60,000 EUR repair costs
After a unsuccessful search for a free dry dock in Sicily, we were able to transfer the Sea Punk I to Malta after a short-term emergency repair and approval of the ship class responsible for us. It is now there for repairs. But the damage to the ship is greater than expected and requires extensive metal work by the shipyard. They are already in full swing – and are costing us at least 60,000 euros!
We have to address this damage immediately. Not just because of our own safety requirements – the ship class wouldn’t let us go back on the water without the necessary work being done. The good news is that once this work is completed, the hull of the vessel will be in the best condition it has been in for a long time before purchase! The work now is an investment in the future!
Plus: our next rotation is already scheduled for september and crewed. So, we are, hypothetically, good to go. We “just” need the money. To first: repair. And then: be operational again.
If you’re wondering how it can be that we need money for repairs again, and whether it can’t be planned better, the short answer is: No. You find more detailed answers in an FAQ below.
What does that mean now? We are close to the end of the Sea Punks.
We are on the verge of bankruptcy due to unexpected developments and expenses. And that even though we had just raised a five-figure sum of money thanks to your donations. But the very money that was planned for the upcoming rotations will now be used to repair the ship. Without repairs: we no longer have a ship. Without a ship: we cannot go on missions.
So we need money. Now. Immediately. Otherwise it will be over in a few weeks. Then the bank account is empty and that’s it with the Sea Punks. Then there will be one less ship out there to support people on the move. This is not scaremongering. That’s what it comes down to if something doesn’t happen right now.
The solution: how YOU can actually help us without becoming bankrupt yourself?!
We can only make the next step out of the shipyard in Malta and back into action in the Mediterranean if we can count on you now. It’s ALL OR NOTHING.
We need you! We need your attention, your smart minds and ideas, and your active hands, and yes: we also need money.
Become an amboatsador of the SPI – make a permanent donation
We need money and ideally in a way that we can use it to plan for the long term. What helps us the most, thus is, if you make a permanent donation. Become one of 3333 amboatsador NOW who will secure our ship operations with a monthly donation of €13.12 or more.
Your regular donation gives us the ability to plan (and therefore also to more and better sleep). If we know that a certain amount of money comes in each month for a foreseeable future.
All amboatsador will be immortalized with their names on our Wall of Fame on the Sea Punk I!
You can become an ambassador here.
Donate your time – join our association and become a Sea Punk!
Our association members are on their last legs. Not only is the money running out – our power is also dwindling. We’ve been doing the whole thing to the best of our knowledge and belief for four years now. With a lot of passion and all the energy we have – and despite all the setbacks that keep hitting us. With many wonderful volunteers along the way. But the rest depends on a small core group of people. And we’re exhausted! We’re not complaining, we decided to do what we do! But we are reaching the end of our capacities. Far too much work has been placed on far too few shoulders for far too long.
Precisely because we want to move on, we cannot afford to burnout here. Therefore: come to us! We need more people!! People who actively participate in our association’s work and support us with accounting, fundraising, campaign planning, in the shipping department, in the legal team, with logistics and with everything else that comes up.
What does it take? Four to five hours a week and the will to join us in countering the EU’s inhumane foreign policy and helping people instead of letting them die. Each of you can help us! Please send us an email with the subject “BOCK” and a few lines about you to mitmachen@seapunks.de
Donate an idea, an action
Organize a solidarity party, a fundraiser, a flea market, or whatever you can think of. Do you have any idea how we can be saved? Then let us know and do it!
We are no heroes. We are human beings. We want to help. Together we are strong.
We have learned and shown over the past four years: Where there is a will, there is a way, there is a solution. We went on rotations and were able to support more than 400 people in distress at sea. Thanks to you and all our volunteers and street teamers. And we want to keep on doing it!
We are no heroes. We are human beings.
We are exhausted. We are angry. We are frustrated. But we don’t want to give up.
WE WILL CONTINUE – if you help us now.
Together we are strong.
Love & Rage
Your Sea Punks
FAQ – Why you have to spend huge amount of money on repairs again?
You keep on having emergencies and have to make repairs – why is that?
Our ship is an old lady, built in 1969. Maybe you once lived in an old house or drive an old car. Then you know: there is always a need for repairs. In addition: We operate a ship in the Mediterranean. Wind, water and waves cause wear! As a result, things break and need to be repaired. The hole we are dealing with now did not come out of nowhere, but has certainly developed over the past ten years.
Why is it so expensive?
What we can do ourselves, we do ourselves. Where we can save money, we save it. But for some repairs we have to use a shipyard and pay correspondingly high sums. In addition, there are increased material costs (hello, inflation!). And because we don’t have a pleasure boat that is allowed to operate largely unregulated, everything has to be approved and certified by the ship class (hello, bureaucracy!) so that we can even go out to sea again. That also costs: time and money.
You’ve just collected a lot of money – why isn’t that enough?
The money collected from the las campaign was intended to implement the already planned operations until the end of 2024. So we were in a pretty good position. But this money is now being used for urgently needed repairs. Even if we had enough money for this, we would still have a ship that could go on the water again, but we would no longer have any money in the account to cover the running costs (berth, fuel, maintenance, travel costs for the crew, rescue equipment, etc.) and then to drive the next rotations. That’s why we now have to collect more money again.
You had a leak – why is the shipyard work now more complex?
In addition to the leak, the scuppers will also be replaced. This is a requirement that we received from the class. In addition, it is normal for old ships to undergo regular dry docking phases and that more complex steel work is then necessary. We didn’t do any of this steel work in Burriana last year because it wasn’t necessary yet. But since we’re in dry dock, let’s do that right now.
Is there no alternative?
No. The work must be done so that the ship can be released from the class again. If we don’t do this work, it would mean: we would have a ship that we can no longer move, but would have to store somewhere for expensive costs again – so it makes no sense!
Did you get ripped off when you bought the ship and get sold on a bunch of junk?
No. We inspected several other ships before purchasing and consciously chose this one. We were accompanied and advised the entire time by people who have nautical expertise! We see no error in the purchasing process. This type of damage/corrosion is very common on ships and may have developed since purchase due to wind and weather and time.
Ps. A similar new ship would cost millions. Then you don’t have any problems for a few years – but we didn’t have millions. And this 1969 ship was the best we could get for the money we had and the purpose it was intended to serve.
If the shipyard work is now completed, what does that mean?
That we will then have a seaworthy ship again with which we can sail on the rotations that have already been planned and crewed. The work is urgent and necessary – and our crew and our ship department are doing everything they can to get the Sea Punk I back into the water! Once this work is completed, the hull of the vessel will be in the best condition it has been in for a long time before purchase.