On March 12, 2026, a judge of the court of Chieti decided to suspend the enforceability of the arrest and fine imposed on the Humanity 1 rescue vessel in Ortona, in December 2025.  

As member of the Justice Fleet alliance, the Humanity 1 had been detained for 20 days in Ortona for not having communicated with the Libyan maritime authorities, despite the fact that Italian courts had previously ruled that the so-called Libyan Coast Guard is not a legitimate search- and rescue actor and is known for severe human rights violations against migrants and refugees. For this reason, the Justice Fleet alliance refuses operational communication with the Libyan rescue coordination centre. 

The decision of the court of Chieti comes after the court of Catania had previously lifted the detention of the search and rescue vessel Sea-Watch 5 in February 2026. Following another detention order against SOS Humanity in February 2026 in the port of Trapani, the rescue vessel is currently still detained. SOS Humanity has also challenged this most recent detention in court.  

The full court decision can be found here: https://mediahub.ai/en/share/album/73ad00c5-a3b0-4758-adec-65774fa27082.