Berlin, 7 May 2026. For the first time since non-governmental search and rescue operations began in the Central Mediterranean in 2015, the German government has extended the heightened security level 2 for ships flying the German flag from Libyan territorial waters to the Libyan search and rescue zone off the coast of Libya – the operational area of search and rescue organisations such as SOS Humanity and Sea-Watch.

The non-governmental organisations whose rescue ships fly the German flag were informed of the heightened security level on Tuesday, 5 May, by the German Flag Maritime Safety Centre. According to the information, this escalation of the security warning was only issued now, on Monday 4 May 2026, by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, even though protection seekers have been subjected to systematic violence for years and attacks on rescue ships escalated as early as August 2025 with the shooting at the civil rescue ship Ocean Viking.

“The Federal Ministry of the Interior’s acknowledgement of the violence perpetrated by Libyan actors at sea comes very late,” criticises Marie Michel, political expert at SOS Humanity. “For many years, SOS Humanity and Sea-Watch have been highlighting the violence and human rights violations committed by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, which is funded by the EU and its Member States, and have documented these on numerous occasions. It is now imperative that this acknowledgement is followed by political consequences: concrete protection for rescue ships and an end to support for these actors, who are responsible for the dangerous situation.”

Whilst security level 2 is now being extended to cover not only the wider search and rescue zone but also the smaller exclusive economic zone, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior assesses that, in addition to merchant ships, civil rescue vessels are particularly at risk.

“The German federal government is confirming a fundamental contradiction in its own policy,” explains Marie Naaß, Head of Political Communications at Sea-Watch. “It acknowledges the real danger posed by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard whilst simultaneously supporting it. The new government is even facilitating the training of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard once again, instead of taking a clear stand against it. In doing so, the German federal government is tacitly making itself complicit in the acknowledged security problem and the violence.”

Last year, the German Federal Government amended and approved the extension of the EU naval mission EUNAVFORMED Irini in such a way that the training of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard by German Federal Army soldiers is no longer ruled out.

In its response to a parliamentary question from the Greens back in spring 2023, the German Government described the fragmented security architecture and the lack of a monopoly on the use of force in Libya, as well as the links between the so-called Libyan Coast Guard and human traffickers in the country.

As part of European cooperation – with Germany’s participation – a Libyan rescue coordination centre and the Libyan Coast Guard have been established and equipped in recent years to facilitate the forced returns (‘pullbacks’) of fleeing people, which are considered breaching international law. Plans are currently underway to establish an additional rescue coordination centre in Benghazi, eastern Libya, which is under the control of military commander Khalifa Haftar. According to calculations by SOS Humanity, a total of over 84 million euros in EU funds has been made available for these cooperation initiatives since 2017.

SOS Humanity and Sea-Watch, two search and rescue organisations that have been active in the Central Mediterranean for the past ten years, are calling on the German government to immediately cease training the illegitimate Libyan Coast Guard, to urge the EU to stop funding it, and to ensure the long-term protection of non-governmental search and rescue operations.