Ripley Davenport as MOAS "Rescue Swimmer" 2016

News coverage of the events: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/12/refugee-rescues-continue-winter-greece-agathonisi

After the faked "Kenmare Swim", Ripley and family bolted from Kenmare and landed in Gozo, Malta. Ripley volunteered as a local lifeguard. As the refugee crisis in the Aegean exploded, a couple of Maltese millionaires (MOAS) decided to deploy a rescue ship privately to save refugees, a laudable if politically sensitive decision. They need two "Rescue Swimmers" a position that involves certain kinds of training and certification. The first RS came from an Irish SAR group and was properly qualified. Ripley convinced the local Malta authorities that he was qualified, which he wasn't and he became the other RS.

In addition to faking his qualifications, Ripley DID NOT TELL anyone he had MS. Not the local life guard service, not the owners of the ship, not the ship's doctor, in spite of this news coverage about the Kenmare Swim.

So the question is.. does Ripley have MS? If he doesn't have it, then he didn't deceive the MOAS people. If he does have it (as he has claimed since 2011 and continues to claim) then he put himself, everyone on board and refugees at risk.

Ripley claims to have been a "combat paramedic". He claims to have appropriate experience and qualifications for "Rescue Swimmer". But anyone with that knowledge would know how vital it is to have full transparency about medical records in SAR operations or just on board a ship.

My guess is that Ripley knew that claiming to have MS would disqualify him and so he, for once, told the truth.

Consider the repercussions for the MOAS people if a: someone had been injured or drowned because Ripley was not qualified to be there or b: the press did a focus piece on Ripley (he got plenty of coverage) and dug deep enough to find out he is a fraud and that he has claimed to have MS. That would be exactly the kind of information that would utterly discredit the entire MOAS rescue effort.. "bleeding heart millionaires helping refugees flood Europe and they can't even vet their rescue people properly"..