After a shipwreck on September 4, 10 nautical miles off the Italian coast, 21 persons remain missing. Due to matching evidence, Sea-Watch has strong reasons to believe that the boat in distress was already reported three days prior to Italian and Maltese Authorities by its Airborne operations. Despite the information, no intervention was launched in…
DetailsFollowing the rescue of 289 people on August 31, 2024, Italian authorities detained the ship Sea-Watch 5 for 20 days. The ship had previously been assigned the port of Civitavecchia, almost 1000 kilometers far, where the rescued people went ashore. The basis for the detention is the so-called Piantedosi Decree introduced in January 2023, which…
DetailsThis factsheet outlines a summary of the distress cases the Sea-Watch Airborne operations witnessed April to June 2024 by Airborne with Seabird 1 and Seabird 2. In April to June we conducted 35 operations, with a total flight time of 213 hours and 42 minutes. We spotted approximately 1,878 persons in distress aboard 43 different…
DetailsOn 26 July 2024, our crew on the Sea-Watch 5 rescued 156 people from two wooden boats. With Seabird, we supported the first rescue from the air. There were people below deck in both boats, where exhaust fumes and a lack of oxygen posed an acute danger to life. Several people had to be treated…
DetailsThe official number of dead and missing in the Mediterranean, according to IOM, is now over 30,000 – a figure that marks the past, present, and future. A figure that is more symbol than fact – because many more people have lost their lives to Europe’s isolationist policy. The number of unreported cases lies at…
Details20.07.2024 In a joint rescue operation with the sailing ship Trotamar III, our Aurora crew rescued 122 people in distress at sea on Saturday morning. We spotted the people in distress on an unseaworthy double-deck wooden boat without water, food, or life jackets from our Seabird aircraft and informed the authorities. Shortly after the…
DetailsJuly 22, 2024 On Monday, we witnessed again an illegal interception of about 70 people, preceded by the repeated ignoring of the mayday relays. About 70 people tried to flee Libya in hopes of reaching Europe. We knew about their possible position and called the nearby merchant vessel MARIDIVE 703, asking whether the crew…
DetailsTo ensure that refugees can access protection, states must guarantee the right to seek and enjoy asylum and uphold their commitments to the international refugee protection system. This obligation applies to all EU Member States under Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Yet, the recent and increasing attempts by the EU and…
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