AN INITIATIVE by the Protestant Church in Germany to finance and launch a refugee-rescue ship in the Mediterranean has been supported by 150 backers, chairman of Germany’s Protestant church council Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said this week.

Mr Bedford-Storhm told the Rheinische Post newspaper that church organisations, charities, trade unions, German celebrities and even the Italian city of Palermo had backed the United4Rescue initiative.

“Of course, we need a resumption of the state sea rescue, Mr Bedford-Storhm said.