After more than 4,5 years of tireless work for people in distress at sea, it is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to our Red Lady, the SEA‑EYE 4. For many, she was more than just a rescue ship – she became a safe harbour in the middle of the central Mediterranean and a symbol of solidarity in Europe’s deadliest border region. Together with around 250 crew members and countless supporters on land, she accompanied approximately 3,700 people on part of their dangerous journey as they fled across the Mediterranean in search of safety. We look back with great gratitude on 20 missions and their many hundreds of stories of resilience and survival. We are convinced that the ship will remain a shining symbol of humanity with our Italian friends from Mediterranea Saving Humans (MSH). Thank you, Red Lady – and THANK YOU to all the countless people and partner organisations who have given life to her important mission over many years.
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A review: the great moments of a great rescue ship
October 2020: Purchase and conversion of the SEA‑EYE 4
Sea-Eye acquires an offshore supply ship (built in 1972) with significant support from the United4Rescue alliance – and converts it into a rescue ship with around 250 volunteers within six months. The SEA‑EYE 4 becomes United4Rescue’s second alliance ship.
28 February 2021: Ship christening
The SEA‑EYE 4 is christened in Rostock. The christening takes place in a small circle under strict COVID-19 protocol. The godfather is the then 18-year-old Alpha Jor Barry, who was rescued from the predecessor ship ALAN KURDI in 2018. The SEA-EYE 4 is then transferred from the Rostock shipyard harbour to her berth in Burriana.
May 2021: First mission with over 400 rescued
On 8 May, the SEA‑EYE 4 sets sail on its first mission – for the first time together with partner organisation German Doctors. The mission takes place in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic: All crew members must first be quarantined and test negative. Paramedic and presenter Tobi Schlegl, who later publishes a book about the mission, is also on board. In total, over 400 people are rescued during the six missions, many of them children. After the mission, the ship is detained for three months – due to formal ‘deficiencies’ in certificates and wastewater disposal. The SEA‑EYE 4 is adapted and the politically motivated blockade lifted.
October/November 2021: Largest rescue of over 800 people
On its third mission ever, the SEA‑EYE 4, together with the RISE ABOVE from the organisation Mission Lifeline, rescues around 850 people from distress at sea in seven missions – including around 170 minors. Particularly dramatic: an overcrowded wooden boat with over 400 people that was already taking on water. In terms of the number of survivors, the mission goes down in history as the ship’s largest rescue mission to date.
The year 2022: Start of Italy’s restrictive change of course in the form of the Piantedosi Decree
During a mission in June 2022, the crew of the SEA‑EYE 4 once again rescues around 500 people. Unfortunately, the first signs of a political change of course in Italy are now becoming noticeable: In December, the Italian authorities issue a direct harbour assignment for the first time while a rescue operation is still underway – a foreshadowing of what the Piantedosi Decree would entail. It obliges civilian sea rescue ships to immediately sail to an – often distant – assigned harbour after a single rescue, instead of carrying out further rescues. Failure to comply can result in heavy fines and ship confiscation. A caesura that will severely hamper civil sea rescue in the years to come.
February 2023: First fatalities in a rescue operation
During a rescue mission in the central Mediterranean, the crew of the SEA‑EYE 4 can only recover two people dead – including the mother of a surviving baby. This is the first time that deceased people are taken on board the ship. Another person dies after an emergency evacuation in hospital on land. These are dark hours on the SEA‑EYE 4 – our sympathies go out to all the friends and families left behind.
June & August 2023: First detentions under the Piantedosi Decree
The SEA‑EYE 4 is detained in the port of Ortona for the first time in June after a total of 49 people are rescued. The reason is the Piantedosi Decree of February 2023: The crew interrupted the journey to the assigned harbour to help other people in distress at sea. Italy imposes 20 days’ administrative detention and a fine of 3,333 euros. The second unlawful detention for 20 days follows in August, after 114 people are rescued in three rescue operations. Sea-Eye appeals against both detentions.
October 2023: Dramatic rescue with 4 lives lost
The so-called Libyan coastguard uses aggressive manoeuvres to harass an overcrowded inflatable boat in the presence of the SEA‑EYE 4. Several people fall into the water in panic, and four people – including a twelve-year-old girl – can only be rescued dead. 48 people survive the dramatic rescue. After the mission, the SEA‑EYE 4 is detained in the harbour of Vibo Valentia for 20 days. The reason: The crew allegedly did not follow the instructions of the aggressively acting so-called Libyan coastguard. Sea-Eye appeals against the detention. An Italian court later confirms that the administrative detention was unlawful – and that the crew had fully complied with their duty to rescue people at sea. Following the instructions of the so-called Libyan coastguard would not have been compatible with international law.
February/March 2024: Two more deaths and 60 days of detention
The SEA‑EYE 4 rescues around 200 people on its mission in 2024 – including several seriously injured people; two do not survive their flight. The so-called Libyan coastguard threatens the ship several times. During one rescue, they point a gun at the rescue boat. In March, the SEA‑EYE 4 is detained in Italy for 60 days – the longest administrative detention of a rescue ship under the Piantedosi Decree at the time. The authorities again justify this with alleged non-compliance with instructions from the so-called Libyan coastguard – although a handover to Libya would have constituted a pushback in violation of international law. Other German rescue ships are also detained. The crew of the SEA‑EYE 4 launches a petition, and the land crew takes the protest to the streets. Rightly so: in June 2024, the court in Reggio Calabria declares this detention unlawful as well.
November 2024 – February 2025: SEA‑EYE 4 becomes emergency aid hub after the flood in Valencia
One day before the severe flooding disaster in Valencia, the SEA‑EYE 4 returns from its mission to Spain: it is converted into an emergency aid hub at short notice. In close collaboration with the local organisation L’Aurora – an indispensable ally that has supported Sea-Eye in Burriana for many years – the crew of the SEA‑EYE 4 coordinated the distribution of over 14,000 meals, 1,000 kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables, 7,000 loaves of bread, and drinking water. Mobile medical teams treat isolated areas, lorry loads of donations are sorted, and donated bicycles are repaired. The crew and around 400 volunteers turn the ship into a central site for relief during this time.
February/March 2025: Solidarity in the civilian fleet – joint mission with Sea-Watch
In March 2025, the organisations Sea-Eye and Sea-Watch carry out a joint rescue mission in the central Mediterranean. The crew of the SEA‑EYE 4, consisting of members of both organisations, rescues a total of 163 people in distress at sea. The mission is a sign of solidarity in the civilian fleet – united against Europe’s isolationist policy.
May / June 2025: We say goodbye – and hand over the Red Lady to MSH
The SEA‑EYE 4 will be placed in new hands and will continue to be operated by Mediterranea Saving Humans. Full of gratitude for what our Red Lady has achieved in recent years, in full confidence that she will continue this work under a new name – and with great hope that we can save even more people from distress at sea as a jointly operating civilian fleet with coordinated strategies. We would like to thank everyone who has helped to send the SEA‑EYE 4 on its important missions in recent years – and to rescue many, many hundreds of people from distress at sea
We bid farewell to the SEA‑EYE 4 with the words of a survivor who described in a letter exactly what this ship was always intended to be – a safe harbour for people on the move:
“If you are on this ship, then you are very lucky – it means you have arrived to safety.”
Leon Salner