In the first quarter of 2026, the highest number of dead and missing persons ever was recorded on this refugee route, according to the International Organisation of Migration (IOM). A total of 683 people have lost their lives, amounting to an average of eight deaths per day. With a death rate of 10% for the first quarter of this year, the crossing is as dangerous as ever before since data on this route has been recorded.1 According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the death toll has increased by 150% compared to the same period last year. 

Despite these figures, there has been no political response aimed at preventing further loss of life. Instead, policies that obstruct non-governmental search and rescue operations have continued and intensified. 

Not only has the Italian administration imposed a total of 42 detentions of rescue ships, which prevented rescue vessels from being out at sea, but the Italian government led by Giorgia Meloni has continued the practice of assigning distant ports to NGO ships for the disembarkation of survivors rescued from distress at sea. Introduced in December 2022, this policy forces search and rescue organisations to travel significantly longer distances after conducting rescues, delaying their return to the area of operation. The effect is a substantial reduction in the fleet’s capacity to respond to distress cases, pulling them out of the areas where rescue capacities are desperately needed.

Since beginning operations in August 2022, we have carried out 86 rescues with our rescue ship Humanity 1. Only eight times during this period was it permitted to disembark survivors at a nearby port in Sicily. Except for one case where a nearby port was initially assigned, all seven instances in which survivors disembarked at a closer port resulted from Humanity 1 strongly insisting on changing the originally designated distant port due to dangerous weather conditions that made the journey unsafe for the ship, crew, and survivors. 146 days of navigation wasted with a total of 58,287 km of unnecessary distances as our data shows. That’s one and a half times around the globe, while we could have rescued lives! 

This practice does not affect a single organization alone but extends across the entire NGO rescue fleet. The cumulative effect of systematic detentions and distant port assignments reflects a broader pattern: the systematic obstruction of humanitarian emergency relief at one of Europe’s most lethal borders, deliberately leaving people to die. While non-governmental search and rescue organisations operate in accordance with international maritime and human rights law, they are increasingly subjected to punitive measures that hinder their work. 

This situation raises fundamental concerns about compliance with international obligations. The right to emergency assistance at sea is well established, and the Central Mediterranean must be treated as a humanitarian space. European states have a legal and moral responsibility to uphold human rights at their borders, including the duty to ensure prompt rescue and safe disembarkation. 

In response, SOS Humanity has initiated legal proceedings at the civil court in Rome together with Mission Lifeline and Sea-Eye, challenging the legality of the distant port policy. This practice unlawfully restricts rescue operations and contributes to preventable loss of life – at a time when the Central Mediterranean are more deadly than ever. 

For a list of all distant ports assigned to Humanity 1 see here.