On Saturday morning, in two separate operations, the crew of the German rescue ship Humanity 1 rescued more than 130 people in distress at sea in the Central Mediterranean. The rescues took place just three days after the deadly shipwreck off Lampedusa, in which at least 27 people drowned. Despite the continuing strong flow of refugees from Libya towards Europe, the Italian authorities assigned the distant port of Naples as a place of safety for Humanity 1, thereby unnecessarily keeping the rescue ship out of the operational area for at least six days. SOS Humanity strongly criticises the distant port assignment.

Just on Wednesday, two boats carrying people on the move capsized off Lampedusa. At least 27 people died, and up to 23 more are missing.

“On Wednesday, the Italian government issued an affected statement following the accident off Lampedusa, and today it is ensuring that urgently needed rescue capacity is lacking in the same area,” Michel added. Ports for disembarkation are also available in Sicily and southern Italy, much closer than Naples, which is almost 800 kilometers away from the location of the rescues.

“It is scientifically proven that the lack of rescue capacity leads to more deaths at sea. Nevertheless, since 2022, rescue ships such as the Humanity 1 have been systematically assigned distant ports – a political calculation designed to hinder the life-saving work of civil society.

This practice has already cost rescue ships more than 880 days, in which they could have come to the aid of people in distress in the Central Mediterranean. With the recent assignment of a distant port, the Italian government is once more actively and deliberately putting human lives at risk. This is a fatal signal!”, Michel continues.