The ‘Messina model’ can be understood as the practical modus operandi that was developed, applied and tested in Messina, Sicily during the Seawatch 3 disembarkation / voluntary relocation in March 2019.
This model has subsequently been applied in several other disembarkations / voluntary relocations in/ from Malta and Italy and has proved to be a robust but flexible mechanism. Three of these operations are still on-going (Ocean Viking in Malta and Open Arms and Eleanor in Italy).