Berlin, September 2, 2026. On 30 August 2026, Humanity 2 was provisionally detained by the Italian authorities in the port of Lampedusa after having rescued a total of 71 persons from distress at sea in two rescue operations on 28 and 29 August 2026. The new sailing ship of SOS Humanity is being investigated and blocked from operating in the Central Mediterranean right after its first mission – on illegitimate grounds, as the rescues were conducted in full accordance with international law, the search and rescue organisation stresses.  

“Blocking the Humanity 2 in Lampedusa is a politically motivated move to obstruct search and rescue efforts,” says crew member Ikram Jarmouni. “During the same mission 71 people in distress were taken on board 71 and three dead bodies were found floating in the water. That’s on top of the dozens of bodies sighted by other organisations in these same waters this year. These deaths are the direct result of European governments choosing to stop people from reaching European shores at all costs, instead of building safe routes.  Every hour this ship sits detained under illegitimate allegations is an hour during which it is not out there – and that is exactly what this detention is designed to achieve”  

The first rescue of 12 people from a small, unseaworthy fiberglass boat spotted by the crew in international waters off Libya took place on August 28.   

While sailing north in the night the Humanity 2 was approached by another overcrowded boat in distress. In a dangerous situation, 59 people were pushed onto the Humanity 2 by unknown actors, who then left the scene. Some people were injured as they came aboard. On board the 24-metre sailing vessel, the crew was confronted with a chaotic situation, working to manage the crowd and to create space for the additional survivors alongside the 12 people already rescued the previous day. The responsible authorities were informed as soon as the emergency situation and search for possibly missing persons had been addressed.  

Upon arrival in the assigned port of Lampedusa, the Italian authorities issued a provisional detention order against the Humanity 2 for allegedly failing “to immediately notify the rescue operation to the competent Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre”.   

“The allegations brought forward are outrageous as Humanity 2 acted at all times in line with international law”, says Marie Michel, Policy Expert at SOS Humanity. “The crew did inform the relevant authorities as soon as they made sure that immediate first aid was provided to the survivors and that no people were left in the water.  Detaining Humanity 2 on these absurd grounds after its very first mission is another sign of the Italian authorities attempt to suffocate all rescue efforts by civil society.” 

SOS Humanity is prepared to take legal action against the Italian governments’ decision. As Marie Michel underlines: “We are not going to accept that the EU and its member states are leaving people to die and evade their responsibility under international law to save lives at sea. We will continue to ensure that everyone’s human rights are protected without exception – in the court room, the parliaments and in the street.”  

Spotting of dead bodies and rising numbers deaths in the Mediterranean 

Previously, in the morning of August 25, the crew had spotted 3 bodies among various unidentifiable floating objects. Due to the advanced state of decomposition of the bodies, it was not possible to retrieve them. Since August 14, different search and rescue organisations have discovered 27 bodies during their operations in the Central Mediterranean, taking the total number to 30. 

2026 started as the deadliest year in the Central Mediterranean since the beginning of the systematic documentation by the International Organization for Migration in 2014 (IOM). On average, every six hours a person dies on the Central Mediterranean route while seeking safety. The blocking of Humanity 2 comes after Italian authorities detained eight rescue vessels from the Justice Fleet alliance in 2026 alone, further exacerbating the lethal lack of rescue capacities in the Central Mediterranean.