Banksy has released a video to his Instagram followers explaining why he has bought a rescue boat.
The Bristol based graffiti artist explains in the video that he has financed a French navy vessel and converted it into a lifeboat that has been launched to secure passage for refugees from North Africa to Europe.
The boat itself has been painted pink and features the artist's work which includes a girl in a life vest holding a heart shaped buoy.
The Louise Michel secretly set sail from Spain on August 18 on its rescue mission.
The video includes various captions explaining why Banksy has decided to buy the rescue boat and features a backdrop of video footage featuring refugees struggling to get to Europe.
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The captions say: "Like most people who make it in the art world I bought a yacht to cruise the med.
"It's a French navy vessel we converted into a lifeboat because EU authorities deliberately ignore distress calls, from 'non Europeans."
The video ends by saying "the MV Louise Michel, All Black Lives Matter."
The anonymous artist put forward the money after reaching out to activist Pia Klemp, the former captain of several NGO boats that have rescued thousands of migrants, last year.
So far, the vessel has been used to rescue 89 people in distress in the Mediterranean, including women and children.
