Licata, Sicily, 25 June 2026. In a ceremony held today at 13:00 in Licata, the new rescue ship of SOS Humanity, a 24-meter-long sailing ship was named Humanity 2.

The former yacht was bought by SOS Humanity in October 2025 and has been transformed into a rescue ship since December in the shipyard of Licata, southern Sicily, with the help of many volunteers. The aim is to increase the rescue capacity of the ten-year-old German search and rescue organisation operating the large rescue ship Humanity 1 since August 2022.

According to IOM, at least 1330 people on the move have drowned or went missing on the Central Mediterranean route so far in 2026. It is the deadliest start of the year of any previous year since 2014.  In response to this deadly rescue gap, SOS Humanity will bring the new sailing ship Humanity 2 into operation in the Central Mediterranean to flexibly respond to rescue needs mainly in the area off Tunisia or further south. The 10-person crew on the sailing ship will assist distress cases, monitor and document human rights violations and in emergencies take up to 100 people on board. Its operation is inexpensive, flexible, and efficient.  

On 25 June at 13:00 in the shipyard of Licata, staff and crew of SOS Humanity, local representatives and influencers, celebrated the naming of the additional rescue ship Humanity 2 as part of the civil fleet. The godfather of Humanity 2, the Executive Director of Refugees in Libya, David Yambio, gave a speech before fulfilling the baptising act.  “It is no longer a question of whether we reject the EU’s deadly and exclusionary border policies, particularly in the absence of safe pathways for people seeking protection. It is a question of our refusal to be complicit in crimes against humanity in the Central Mediterranean Sea. If that means deploying 30,000 civilian sea rescue boats, we will do so unflinchingly, despite every attempt to criminalise our duty, our solidarity, and our humanity”, said Yambio, who fled across the sea himself.

A rescue and monitoring ship
“The sailing ship has been purchased and transformed in a rescue ship with a lot of dedication, funding from civil society, hard work of volunteers and staff of SOS Humanity – to reach one important goal: to send it out to the sea to rescue more people from distress”, says Till Rummenhohl, General Director and Head of Operations at SOS Humanity. “The mission of this ship is also to help witness what is happening at sea, all the human rights violations committed by EU-supported entities every day. The crew will mainly monitor the sea area off Tunisia, document incidents, and SOS Humanity will make sure to make it visible in public. Each life matters and is worth this further rescue effort.”