It's been quite a 24 hours on the #OceanViking! This morning, apart from the noise of the wind & the ship's engines, all is quiet on the rolling deck; 162 exhausted people are sleeping, wrapped up in blankets, in 3 shelters & a covered area of the deck

Although the boat was losing buoyancy fast - the bow had already deflated - the first rescue felt very calm. The people on board were given lifejackets then transferred in small groups to the RIBs

First to arrive at the #OceanViking were 7 babies & toddlers, along with their mothers. Straightaway each was checked by an #MSF medic before being taken to the women's shelter to get warm & dry

Around 2 hours later, the #SOSMediterrannee team transferred the final group of people from the rubber boat to #OceanViking & the rescue of 112 people was complete

But #OceanViking's second rescue - which took place late that same night - was a different kettle of fish: fast-paced, dramatic & quite terrifying to watch. It was a wooden boat full of petrified people, zigzagging out of control in big waves.

So much has happened so fast: #OceanViking stuck out at sea in a storm; a helicopter winching a woman & baby into the air; huge waves; sudden permission to land in Italy; saying our goodbyes; & then they were gone. That was the worst bit. Tomorrow we leave to do it all over again

On main deck of #OceanViking there's always someone lost in thought & staring out to sea. For some people I talked to, this was their 4th attempt to cross the Med. Each time before, they were intercepted by the Libyan coastguard & returned to a hellish detention centre

People gather their few possessions ahead of landing in Italy. Lots of smiles but lots of trepidation too. A middle-aged Moroccan man is weeping. Mohammed, from Darfur in Sudan, says he feels sad to leave #OceanViking - "Here I feel safe," he says.

Here's the past week on #OceanViking condensed into 2 mins - hope watching it won't make you feel seasick

It feels like such a lottery: get rescued, get returned or drown. Today on #OceanViking we heard news of 1 boat rescued (by NGO ship #AlanKurdi), found another 1 drifting & empty, & saw a Libyan coastguard vessel, crowded with rescued people, speeding past us back to #Libya

Once on board #OceanViking - shaken & often soaked & shivering - everyone gets a 'rescue kit' with towel, t-shirt, tracksuit, socks, toothbrush, juice, water & high-cal biscuits. As soon as they're dry, warm & fed, most people wrap themselves in a blanket & collapse into sleep

With 26 women & 8 babies on board #OceanViking, the women's shelter's a warm fug of wailing infants & damp washing. These women risked their children's lives on the world's most deadly sea crossing - can you even begin to imagine the desperation behind that decision?

New year's day: a stowaway pigeon; stiff breeze, big waves; sketchy reports of a crowded rubber boat seen by a fisherman, now vanished without trace; watching the effortless gulls overhead; wondering if today's airstrikes in #Libya will push others to risk their lives on this sea

How many #MSFers does it take to recover a banana? And is a broom essential?

"Our ways will split now: you will go to land & we will go back to the sea. We have a deep respect for all of you"- #MSF's Aloys & his translation team say farewell to people rescued by #OceanViking before they disembark in Italy

Soon it's my turn to go to land (but no officials in hazmat suits & facemasks to greet me, no numbers stapled to my clothes - just a flash of my EU passport & I'll be in)...

...but #OceanViking will be out there still, rescuing more desperate people from desperate boats at sea. Best of luck #MSF and #SOSMed teams - I hope you save many more lives

Calmer weather on the Med & hundreds are seizing the chance to escape airstrikes in #Libya. In past week (from #MSF & #AlarmPhone): 22 boats in distress; 1,100 people at sea; 237 people rescued; 602 people intercepted by coastguard and taken back to #Libya...

“The experiences we faced in #Libya were far worse than anything we went through in Somalia” – #Tajoura survivor Faduma, rescued by #OceanViking in December, tells her story: blogs.msf.org/bloggers/natas…

. Scottish Citylink please can u advise how to bring forward date of my return ticket from mon 10 to wed 5 may