After a Mayday Relay reached us yesterday morning, we set off in search of the boat in distress. Shortly afterwards, the crew of the Humanitarian Pilots Initiative sighted the distressed vessel with their new Seabird 3 aircraft: a blue and black fiberglass boat with 27 people on board.
In the early afternoon, we were able to find the boat thanks to the support from the air. The two outboard engines of the migrant vessel had failed and it was drifting in the increasing waves. The people on board were desperately waiting for help without life jackets or life-saving equipment.
We used our dinghy to distribute life jackets to all 27 people as quickly as possible – no easy task in the high waves. After that, our dinghy team brought all the people safely on board the Trotamar III.
With winds of up to 30 knots and waves 2 to 3 meters high the crew of the Trotamar III finally set course for Lampedusa. Crew and people on the move endured an exhausting crossing until the Trotamar III was finally able to moor in Lampedusa in the early hours of the morning and everybody was able to set foot safely on European soil.

⚓ We are back in the port of Licata

1 July, 2025

🛟 The crew had an intense time, which was mainly characterized by waiting and being ready at all times. As previously reported, we spent a lot of time on a…

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Waiting for boats

25 June, 2025

🪞 The sea around us is as flat as a mirror. The sun is shining. Actually the best conditions for people to make their way to Europe. But there are…

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Sailing to the SAR zones!

22 June, 2025

The Trotamar III has left the port of Lampedusa the day bevore yesterday and is now on her way to the SAR zones. Our volunteer crew has now been preparing…

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Say hello to our new crew!

16 June, 2025

Our new crew has arrived in Sicily: Lena, Feli, Hannes, Martin and Jordan together with skipper Matthias will be sailing out onto the central Mediterranean Sea to support the civilian…

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Back in Licata

27 May, 2025

A long deployment comes to an end.For four weeks, our volunteer crew members Eden, Momo, Juliette, Rob and David, together with skipper Matthias, were training, keeping watch and looking out…

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46 people rescued

20 May, 2025

On Saturday afternoon, our crew discovered a boat in distress: 46 people on an overcrowded wooden boat. Without life jackets, the people were crammed into the boat, which had already…

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We are on the ocean

11 May, 2025

Two days ago the Trotamar III has left the port of Lampedusa and is now sailing out onto the central Mediterranean Sea. Now the crew begins to look out for…

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Our new crew has arrived

4 May, 2025

The new crew has arrived in Licata: Eden, Momo, Juliette, Rob and David, together with skipper Matthias, will be supporting the Civil Fleet over the next few weeks. Our third…

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Trotamar III is back in Licata!

22 April, 2025

We are back in the port of Licata. The crew has been through an exciting and exhausting time: Last weekend we found and assisted two boats in distress at sea…

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Boat in distress: around 60 people are save now

19 April, 2025

Yesterday we accompanied a boat in distress at sea with around 60 people. A few hours later, the Italian coastguard responded to our Mayday Relay and sent a rescue ship…

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