Violence and lawlessness in the Mediterranean
Violence and lawlessness in the Mediterranean
SOS Humanity condemns the past two weeks of violence and lawlessness in the Mediterranean after gunfire attack of so-called Libyan Coast Guard
Over the last ten years, search and rescue organizations and people on the move have endured escalating violence and lawlessness in the Central Mediterranean. The events of the past two weeks set an alarming peak to this outrageous development: We had to witness deadly shipwrecks, systematic obstruction of rescue efforts as well as non-compliance by state actors with international law, and dangerous acts of intimidation by patrol boats of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, peaking in the brutal gunfire attack on the rescue ship Ocean Viking on Sunday.
“Due to the increasing externalization policy of the EU and its member states and the systematic obstruction of our rescue efforts, the Central Mediterranean Sea has not only cemented its status as one of the world’s deadliest migration routes but has also turned into a lawless battleground. We have called out many times that to end chaos and deaths at sea, the EU and its member states must immediately stop their cooperation with the so-called Libyan Coast Guard”, says Marie Michel, SOS Humanity´s Advocacy Manager.
Regarding the violent attack on the Ocean Viking, Michel comments: “Ongoing violence against refugees and the recent targeted shootings at rescuers show once again: This so-called Coast Guard is an illegitimate actor and acts like an aggressive militia deliberately putting people’s lives at sea at risk.”
The brutal attack on the Ocean Viking marks an escalation peak but is not an isolated case. The following timeline shows the shocking extent of recent acts of deliberate rescue obstruction, violence and lawlessness in the central Mediterranean Sea.
13.08.2025
Two boats carrying nearly 100 people capsized off Lampedusa, resulting in at least 27 fatalities and around a dozen missing. This tragic incident underscores the perilous nature of the Central Mediterranean crossing as well as the necessity for sufficient rescue capacities.
18.08.2025
Civil rescue ship Mediterranea was circled by eight unidentified boats in dangerous maneuvers. They men onboard were armed and aggressively shouted to the crew of Mediterranea to “go out of Libya”, despite the ship finding itself in international waters
20.08.2025
In pitch dark, civil rescue ship Mediterranea rescued ten people from the water who were thrown overboard by an unidentified military vessel in the Libyan search and rescue zone.
22.08.2025
During the rescue of 65 people in distress, civil rescue ship Nadir discovered the bodies of three sisters (9, 11 and 17 years old) who had drowned inside their boat. Another person went missing before the rescue. The case highlights the urgent need for swift rescues of unseaworthy and overcrowded boats used for crossing the central Mediterranean.
23.08.2025
After conducting a rescue of 51 people in distress and witnessing an illegal pull-back by a so-called Libyan Coast Guard vessel, the same Libyan boat threatened Humanity 1 and ordered the crew to leave the area, claiming it was their waters, although Humanity 1 was located deep inside international waters. Just a few hours later, the sailing ship Trotamar III was threatened with gunfire – very likely by the same Libyan vessel.
24.08.2025
A Libyan patrol boat of the same class that threatened Humanity 1 and Trotamar III the day before deliberately fired on civil rescue ship Ocean Viking for more than 20 minutes, discharging hundreds of bullets at the bridge, antennas, windows, survivors’ spaces and rescue equipment. The vessel had been donated to Libyan authorities by Italy under EU support programs in 2023. Miraculously, none of the crew members and the 87 survivors on board were injured. The incident marks a climax of escalating unrestrained violence by the so-called Libyan coast guard against rescuers and people in distress at sea.
25.08.2025
With 51 survivors on board, of which 20 were unaccompanied minors and children, Humanity 1 submitted a request for a prompt disembarkation of the survivors to the Juvenile Court of Taranto. Despite that the request was forwarded by the court to the Italian rescue coordination centre and the high number of extremely vulnerable people, the Italian authorities forced Humanity 1 to sail all the way to Ravenna, the assigned place of safety, denying the survivors their right under maritime law to be disembarked as soon as possible and keeping the rescue ship away from the area of operation for an unnecessarily long time. All survivors have to endure an unnecessary 1.600 km journey and five more days at sea.
26.08.2025
Two civil ships, Mediterranea and Trotamar 3 were arbitrarily detained by Italian authorities after disembarking survivors they had rescued from distress before based on the Italian Piantedosi law which is used to deliberately obstruct search and rescue efforts. Two other vessels, Nadir and Astral, were instructed to sail to Lampedusa solely to hand in paperwork after having assisted the Italian Coast Guard in two rescues – an emerging administrative tactic aimed at pulling rescue vessels out of their operational area.
