Berlin, 7 July 2026 – On 3 July, the Sea-Watch 5 departed for a rescue mission in the central Mediterranean for the first time since it was fired upon in May. At the same time, Sea-Watch filed an urgent application with the Berlin Administrative Court seeking to oblige the German government to take effective measures to protect the Sea-Watch 5 and its crew. The urgent application is based on Germany’s duty to protect vessels flying the German flag. The danger facing the Sea-Watch 5 is not an isolated case. It is directly linked to a policy through which Germany and the EU have for years politically, financially and operationally supported the so-called Libyan Coast Guard – despite its documented violence against people seeking protection. This support must end.
In recent months, civilian rescue vessels in the central Mediterranean have repeatedly been attacked by actors of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard. The Sea-Watch 5 was threatened, harassed and fired upon several times on 26 September 2025 and 11 May 2026. In May, Libyan militias also threatened to board the vessel and abduct both the crew and the ship to Libya.
The Sea-Watch 5 sails under the German flag. The German government is obliged, as it is for any other vessel flying the German flag, to take effective measures to protect life, physical integrity, liberty and property. Sea-Watch has repeatedly informed the German government of the attacks, the acute danger and its duty to protect, most recently in a letter dated 19 June 2026 to the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which also made clear the urgency of the matter. To date, there has been no response.
Julia Winkler, spokesperson for Sea-Watch:
“The German government is remaining silent in the face of attacks that have long required it to act. It bears responsibility both for protecting a vessel under the German flag and for a policy that has politically contributed to creating this dangerous situation. Those who have spent years legitimising, financing and supporting the so-called Libyan Coast Guard cannot pose as uninvolved observers. Escalations of violence have knowingly been accepted for years in order to keep people on the move from fleeing.”
Sea-Watch calls on the German government to immediately end its support for the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and to advocate at European level for an end to cooperation with it. As a member and current chair of the Frontex Management Board, Germany must also work to ensure that Frontex stops sharing information with Libyan coordination centres and suspends or terminates operations in the central Mediterranean where they contribute to human rights violations. Instead of continuing to enable violence in the Mediterranean, Germany must advocate for a European sea rescue programme.
