On Tuesday, Sea-Watch announced its preparedness to begin urgent legal proceedings against the blockade of its rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 in Italy by the government of the Netherlands. Two minutes before the given deadline on Wednesday, the Dutch authorities permitted the ship to sail to its planned shipyard for maintenance. This demonstrates the indefensibility of…
DetailsDutch authorities use the safety of refugees as an argument to let them drown To shut down one of the last remaining rescue vessels on the Mediterranean, European governments use double standards. The Dutch authorities today carry out an inspection on the Sea-Watch 3’s ability to accommodate rescued people for longer periods of time, however…
Details01.02.2019, Sea-Watch learned from the media that its vessel Sea-Watch 3, which disembarked 47 people in Catania yesterday after a 10-day odyssey, is blocked in Catania. The blockade of the last remaining rescue ship in the Mediterranean comes only days after the United Nations named criminalisation of sea rescue as the reason for a record…
DetailsDear Minister, Re: Timely and Predictable European Arrangements for Disembarkation We, the undersigned organisations, networks and platforms, write to you to express our grave concerns and urge you to act over the current crisis in the Mediterranean Sea. Since January 2018, at least 2,500 women, children and men have drowned in the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, EU…
DetailsAfter a complaint by survivors and crew members of the rescue ship Sea-Watch 3, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has recognized a violation of rights and imposed interim measures. Entering the 11th day of the unlawful blockade off Siracusa, Italy, Sea-Watch acknowledges the ruling but is forced to insist: interim measures are not…
DetailsThis is Doro and he is beautiful. Believe me when I say it, he is beautiful. His inner strength is completely humbling and it shines through anything that your eyes may see. Today he is kept like a hostage in the sea onboard the Sea-Watch 3, stranded outside of Sicily, neither allowed to go to…
DetailsSeven days after the rescue of 47 shipwrecked off the Libyan coast, the last remaining rescue ship in the central Mediterranean Sea now is blocked off the coast of Sicily despite various cities offering a port of safety. On Thursday the mayor of the Italian city Syracuse, Francesco Italia, had declared the city’s port open,…
DetailsSea-Watch Chairman Johannes Bayer: “The EU pretends to fight human trafficking, but what is it but human trafficking when states spend days haggling over the reception of a few dozen refugees and thereby acutely endanger their lives?” “Sea rescue must never depend on EU negotiations, distribution issues need to be solved on land.” “This weekend…
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