Operational report 4 – 2025 (31.5.-21.6.2025)
The defining event of the 4th mission in 2025 was the arrest by the Italian authorities – the first time in RESQSHIP’s history. After the first rescue, this mission was suddenly and unexpectedly over.
The rescue that led to the arrest
On the evening of June 5, we found an overcrowded, unseaworthy wooden boat purely by chance while patrolling. When we approached the boat to help, the people on board were obviously frightened and tried to flee from us. After a while, however, they realized that we posed no danger. We later learned that the people had feared we were the so-called Libyan coastguard. The incident exemplifies the horror that many people have experienced in Libya and illustrates their fear of returning there.
The people on the boat told us during the emergency contact that there were 115 people on board (later it turned out to be 112), and that the boat had a lower deck with people in it. In the past, NADIR crews had found unconscious and even dead people in such lower decks who had suffocated from the gasoline vapors accumulating there. Since we had to assume that there was an acute danger to the lives of the people on the lower deck, we decided to take everyone on board the NADIR immediately.
What followed were nerve-wracking hours of evacuation. The sea was relatively rough with waves about one meter high, which made the transfer from the boat to our tender as well as from the tender to the NADIR considerably more difficult. There were 5 small children on board, and we were naturally particularly worried about them. Our tender crew tirelessly brought people to the NADIR, while the crew on board made sure that all arrivals were accommodated in an orderly fashion so that all 112 people could finally be accommodated on the motor sailer, which was only 18 meters long. No easy task in such a limited space. Meanwhile, our doctor treated a severely dehydrated person below deck. Our summary of the evacuation: despite the challenging circumstances, we are relieved and happy that everything worked out so well.
When the evacuation was finally completed in the early hours of the morning, we checked that there really were no more people on the lower deck of the boat before setting course for Lampedusa.
The determination
We had been assigned Lampedusa as a safe harbor and set our course. After several hours of sailing, an Italian coastguard ship appeared and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) in Rome told us on the phone that we should hand over particularly vulnerable people to this ship and then sail to Porto Empedocle in Sicily with the rest of the people. Porto Empedocle was about a 24-hour crossing from where we were. We expressed our reservations about handing over a few people to the coast guard ship: firstly, the maneuver would have been dangerous, as the NADIR was very full with our 112 guests and we would hardly have been able to hand over lines safely. Handing over just a few people would also have led to unrest or even panic on board and could have compromised the stability of our ship. Secondly, we were concerned about the language barriers: There was a risk that we could separate families or that we would not have been able to spot invisible vulnerabilities. We communicated these concerns to the MRCC by email, but never received a response. The local coastguard unit also repeated to us to keep on course for Lampedusa – so we continued towards Lampedusa. When we arrived at the port, we asked for permission to enter, which we received after a few minutes. Everyone was able to go ashore safely.
The next day – we had planned to set sail again later that day – the coast guard appeared at our pier and demanded that the captain come with them to the station. He was then told that we had disobeyed the MRCC’s orders and were therefore detained for 20 days. On the one hand, we were accused of not having informed the Libyan authorities (we had tried to do so by telephone after being requested to do so by the MRCC, but had not been able to reach anyone). Secondly, we were accused of ignoring the assigned safe harbor of Porto Empedocle and illegally taking the people to Lampedusa. However, the crossing to Porto Empedocle was linked to the handover of some people to the Italian coastguard – which had not happened. The MRCC had not responded to our concerns, which is why the last written – and therefore legally binding – instruction was to set course for Lampedusa. We therefore consider both accusations to be unlawful and have taken legal action.
And now?
After our rescue, the weather had calmed down and the sea was as smooth as glass, giving many people the opportunity to make the crossing. It was an absurd situation: we were stuck in Lampedusa and heard one distress call after another on the radio, but there was nothing we could do. We decided to make the best of the situation: Some crew members planned action against the unlawful detention. Others used the time to get the ship up to scratch: Repairs, maintaining rescue and sailing equipment, inventory, mucking out, cleaning. After about a week, the coastguard ordered us to Porto Empedocle in Sicily, where we had to serve the rest of our detention.
What does that mean?
This was the first time that NADIR was detained by the authorities. We fear it may not be the last time. This would mean a massive reduction in the NADIR’s operational capability and cost lives at sea. We hope for the best and of course continue to welcome support, which we need now more than ever. We continue to stand in solidarity with the people who want to come to Europe and are on duty whenever we can!
Image rights: Leon Salner | RESQSHIP e.V.
