The search and rescue organisations Emergency, Louise Michel, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Sea-Watch, SOS Humanity, and SOS Mediterranee, are ready to join the criminal trial in the Cutro shipwreck to act as a civil party. The trial seeks justice for the shipwreck that occurred off the coast of Calabria, Italy, on February 25-26, 2023. The alliance calls for the responsible authorities to be held accountable for the deliberate neglect of rescue operations and for international law to be upheld in the Mediterranean. 

Crotone, March 5, 2025 – A coalition of search and rescue (SAR) organisations is ready to join the criminal trial in the Cutro shipwreck to act as a civil party. The case seeks justice for the events of February 25-26, 2023, when a boat sank off the coast of Calabria, Italy, resulting in one of the deadliest shipwrecks in Italy’s recent history. At least 94 people died, 80 survived, and an unknown number remain missing.

In the trial, six officials of the Italian Coast Guard (Guardia di Costiera) and Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) are accused by the Italian public prosecutor of causing negligent shipwreck and multiple counts of manslaughter.

The alliance comments: “Repeated failures to launch timely rescues are not accidents, they are calculated negligence. Italian authorities have systematically ignored their duty to rescue, but the deadly cycle of impunity must end now. Those in power must no longer be allowed to evade justice while people drown at sea.”

The Cutro trial presents a crucial opportunity to break the cycle of impunity for violations of maritime and human rights law committed by state actors. The SAR organizations active in the Mediterranean Sea have extensively documented the repeated failures in launching timely rescue operations, leading to preventable deaths. Therefore, the alliance emphasizes that the case must not stop at lower-ranking officials. Every responsible conduct, including that of higher authorities, must be assessed.

Emergency, Louise Michel, Mediterranea Saving Humans, Sea-Watch, SOS Humanity, and SOS Mediterranee aim to support the families of the victims, provide expertise to the legal process, and ensure that justice is served. The alliance calls for an immediate end to the criminalization of people on the move and deliberate neglect of rescue operations. A strong commitment to upholding international maritime and human rights law must be the foundation of all political decisions.