32 organisations demand the immediate ending of the systematic obstruction of non-governmental search and rescue (SAR) efforts by the Italian state. In the past month alone, NGO vessels have been detained three times due to legal restrictions based on allegations under the “Piantedosi decree” – one of them, the monitoring vessel Nadir operated by RESQSHIP, got detained twice in a row. Deliberately keeping non-governmental search and rescue organisations away from the Central Mediterranean causes countless more deaths at sea on one of the deadliest flight routes worldwide.

Despite numerous alerts raised by SAR organisations, NGO vessels continue to be arbitrarily detained since the adoption of the “Piantedosi decree” in January 2023, aggravated by the conversion into law of the “Flussi decree” in December 2024. In the last month, Nadir and Sea-Eye 5, two of the smaller vessels operated by RESQSHIP and Sea-Eye, were detained on accusations of not complying with authorities’ instructions. Both crews were assigned very distant ports and asked for partial transshipments of people based on vulnerability criteria, despite the fact that a proper vulnerability assessment needs a safe environment and can not be conducted aboard a ship and directly after a rescue. 

Implementing legal and administrative obstructions serves an obvious goal: to keep SAR vessels away from their operational areas, drastically restricting their active presence at sea. Without the presence of NGO assets and aircrafts, more people will drown while fleeing across the Central Mediterranean, and human rights violations as well as shipwrecks will occur unnoticed. Smaller vessels play a crucial role: they monitor the route, provide first aid to people on boats in distress and, when necessary, embark the people until the arrival of better-equipped vessels.

Since February 2023, NGO ships have been subjected to 29 detentions, amounting to a total of 700 days in harbours instead of rescuing lives at sea. They spent an additional 822 days at sea navigating to reach assigned ports at unjustifiable distances, amounting to 330,000 kilometres of navigation. What initially only affected non-governmental SAR vessels has now been extended also to smaller monitoring ships.

In addition, NGOs spend a huge amount of time and financial resources appealing Italy’s restrictive legislation and the administrative detentions arbitrarily imposed on them.

In previous months, national courts – in Catanzaro, Reggio Calabria, Crotone, Vibo Valentia, and Ancona – issued decisions recognising the detention of NGO rescue ships at port to be unlawful and, as a consequence, they annulled the related fines. In October 2024, the Brindisi Tribunal asked the Italian Constitutional Court to assess the compatibility of the “Piantedosi decree”, converted into law in February 2023, with the Italian Constitution. On the 8^th of July 2025, the Constitutional court re-established that the Law of the Sea cannot be circumvented by punitive and discriminatory norms and any order contrary to it is to be considered illegal and illegitimate.

Non-assistance is a crime!

Under international maritime law, every shipmaster has the obligation to assist persons in distress at sea. Likewise, any state operating a Rescue Coordination Centre is legally bound to facilitate and ensure timely rescue operations. Yet today, what we are witnessing is not a state failure, but a pattern of deliberate violations: withholding information about distress cases, coordinating with the so-called Libyan coast guards for illegal pullbacks – even within Maltese waters – and allowing Frontex aircraft to observe shipwrecks and violent interception without intervening.

These practices are a blatant violation of the SOLAS Convention, the SAR Convention, UNCLOS, and the principle of non-refoulement. When states obstruct rescue activities instead of enabling them, they are not enforcing the law, they are breaking it.

Background

In December 2024, the “Flussi decree” (converted by Law 145/2024) concerning migration and asylum legislation passed by the Italian government came into force. It tightens the already restrictive provisions of the “Piantedosi decree”, ranging from fines to the detention and permanent confiscation of search and rescue vessels . The new provisions facilitate the confiscation of vessels by holding shipowners liable for repeated violations regardless of the captain, and hence represents a further escalation in the targeted obstruction of the work of SAR NGOs in the Central Mediterranean.

Ten years ago, search and rescue NGOs started filling the lethal gap left by the EU and its Member States in the Central Mediterranean. While the EU increasingly focuses on border control and border externalisation to prevent any arrivals of people on the move to European coasts, more than 175.500 people have been rescued by NGO ships since then. Nevertheless, since 2017, SAR actors have been increasingly exposed to criminalisation and systematic obstruction due to restrictive laws and policies, which contradict international maritime law and human rights.

We demand:

• The immediate repeal of the Piantedosi and Flussi decrees, putting an end to inhumane requests for rescue ships to perform partial disembarkation and stopping the assignment of distant ports. As requested by international maritime law, those who have just been rescued should be disembarked without delay at the closest place of safety; they should not be made to endure long journeys due to political calculations.
• The immediate release of the monitoring sailing vessel Nadir and the end to the obstruction and criminalization of non-governemental SAR activities.
• That EU member states fulfil their duty to rescue people at sea and comply with international law. The authorities should provide all NGO ships with the necessary support in the coordination of rescues in order to take their responsibility to assist people in distress.
• The establishment of a EU-financed and coordinated search and rescue programme.
• Safe and legal pathways to Europe to prevent people from being forced onto unseaworthy boats and embarking on difficult and sometimes deadly journeys.

Signatories:

1. Association for Juridical Studies on Immigration (ASGI)
2. borderline-europe, Human rights without borders e.V.
3. Captain Support Network
4. Cilip | Bürgerrechte & Polizei 
5. CompassCollective
6. CONVENZIONE DEI DIRITTI NEL MEDITERRANEO 
7. EMERGENCY
8. European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
9. Gruppo Melitea 
10. iuventa-crew
11. LasciateCIEntrare 
12. Maldusa project
13. Médecins Sans Frontières
14. MEDITERRANEA Saving Humans
15. MEM.MED Memoria Mediterranea 
16. migration-control.info project
17. MV Louise Michel project
18. Open Arms 
19. RESQSHIP
20. r42 Sail And Rescue
21. Refugees in Libya
22. Salvamento Marítimo Humanitario (SMH)
23. SARAH-Seenotrettung 
24. Sea-Eye
25. Sea Punks e.V
26. Sea-Watch
27. SOS Humanity
28. SOS MEDITERRANEE
29. Statewatch
30. Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights FTDES
31. United4Rescue 
32. Watch the Med Alarm Phone

The loss of over two million euros has a tangible impact on rescue operations and the survival chances of people in distress at sea.

Since 2022, the Federal Foreign Office has funded civil sea rescue operations in the Mediterranean with two million euros per year. However, none of the affected organisations were consulted before the cabinet decided to withdraw the funding.

Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye, says: “For ten years, we have been filling the gap in the Mediterranean that should actually be filled by European states, including Germany. Financial support has enabled Sea-Eye to undertake additional missions and save lives in a very concrete way. However, it is now possible that, despite there being distress calls at sea, we will have to remain in port. The federal government must not quietly and without justification cut its support for sea rescue efforts. Fewer people will then be rescued from distress at sea. That is why the Bundestag must continue to provide support through the federal budget. Protecting human lives and human rights must not be considered less important in Germany than investing heavily in armaments. The political signal this would send would be fatal. I therefore appeal to all members of the democratic parties in the Bundestag to ensure that support for civil sea rescue continues so that we can continue to save lives.”

Last year alone, over 2,500 people died in the Mediterranean while fleeing (source: IOM Missing Migrants Project). Since its foundation in 2015, Sea Eye has been financed almost exclusively through donations. In 2022, the organisation received state support for the first time from the then Ampel coalition. This enabled the organisation to offset increased costs for fuel, mooring fees, and personnel on board and ashore, guaranteeing the presence of rescue ships in the area of operation.

The civil rescue ship SEA-EYE 5, operated by the Germany-based search and rescue organization Sea-Eye, was detained by Italian authorities in the port of Pozzallo on Monday, June 16, 2025.

The detention followed a rescue operation on Saturday, June 14, during which the crew of SEA-EYE 5 saved a total of 65 people from an overcrowded rubber boat in acute distress in the Central Mediterranean — among them many women and several seriously injured individuals. 

“This detention is a politically motivated act and a serious attack on civil sea rescue. The underlying strategy: small rescue vessels are expected to fulfill demands that are not compatible with safety standards — and those who refuse to risk human lives are punished,” says Gorden Isler, Chairman of Sea-Eye e.V.

Sea-Eye Faces Three Accusations:

Disregard of MRCC Rome Instructions:
The captain allegedly failed to fully communicate information and refused the selective transfer of individuals to the Coast Guard. The captain argued that all people on board were in need of protection.

Delayed Request for Disembarkation:
SEA-EYE 5 is accused of not “officially and promptly” requesting a port of disembarkation. In reality, Sea-Eye had been in active contact with several rescue coordination centers, including those in Bremen and Rome, from the outset of the operation. All communication was documented in writing.

Delayed Departure to Taranto:
SEA-EYE 5 allegedly did not proceed “without delay” to Taranto after it was assigned and instead waited over six hours off the coast of Pozzallo. However, Pozzallo had been officially designated as the Port of Safety. The delay was due to the MRCC in Rome canceling the planned disembarkation, argues Sea-Eye. From Sea-Eye’s perspective, the transshipment demands and further travel instructions were incompatible with the safety situation on board and the ship’s technical limitations.

Sea-Eye Strongly Rejects the Accusations

“These accusations are fabricated to criminalize rescue operations. Our crew has always acted in the best interests of those rescued and in accordance with international maritime law. The detention once again shows that Italian authorities are systematically trying to push civil rescue ships out of the Mediterranean,” explains Isler. 

Sea-Eye has announced it will take legal action against the detention. The organization views this measure as a continuation of Italy’s repressive port policy, which previously drew international criticism in the case of the civil rescue vessel NADIR.

Background: Dispute Over Port of Disembarkation

After the rescue, the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome initially assigned the port of Taranto — 390 nautical miles away — as a Port of Safety, despite this distance being incompatible with the ship’s technical capabilities and insufficient water supplies for such a long journey with so many people on board. Only after intense pressure, strong appeals referencing international maritime law, and persistent argumentation did the MRCC in Rome relent overnight and assign the closer port of Pozzallo in Sicily.

On Sunday at approximately 2:00 PM, the SEA-EYE 5 finally reached Pozzallo. Upon arrival, the crew was informed that instead of a full disembarkation, only a so-called transshipment would be permitted. The crew was instructed to identify vulnerable individuals and transfer them to an Italian Coast Guard patrol vessel. The remaining rescued individuals were expected to stay on board and be transported to Taranto in Apulia.

During the hours-long negotiations, the crew had to request another medical evacuation, as the condition of a pregnant woman continued to deteriorate. A medical evacuation had already been approved the previous day for three severely injured individuals, who were transferred to the Italian Coast Guard. At 8:30 PM, the crew received official permission to enter the port and disembark the rescued individuals. At the same time, the medical evacuation request was approved, allowing the pregnant woman to be brought ashore with a family member and receive medical care before the ship docked.

After the remaining 60 people were safely disembarked, Italian authorities initially placed SEA-EYE 5 under quarantine. On Monday evening, at around 6:30 PM, the vessel was officially detained — the first such detention for the ship since Sea-Eye began operating it in December 2024.

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.

A review: the great moments of a great rescue ship

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.

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.

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.

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.”