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.
16 people rescued
On Saturday evening, we came across a boat in distress in the dark and took 16 people on board, including many minors. On board the Trotamar III, everyone was provided…
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70 people rescued
Yesterday, our crew encountered a distress case: around 70 people on a small, overcrowded fibreglass boat. With the dinghy, the crew immediately distributed life vests to everyone.Over the next few…
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Leaving Licata
After almost a week of intensive training and preparations, our crew left the port of Licata this morning. The Trotamar III is now heading for Lampedusa – the last spot…
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Trainings, Trainings, Trainings
Before we set sail, there is a lot to practice — especially with the dinghy.How do we approach a boat in distress? How do we rescue a person from the…
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New Crew
Welcome our new crew! Helena, Janik, Jason, Matz, and Theresa are joining skipper Matthias on our eighth deployment in 2025.Preparations begin immediately after arrival: What personal protective equipment is available…
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Support us with your donation to win the court case
Repression against civilian sea rescue organizations in Italy is increasing – our ship, the Trotamar III, was also detained and fined by the Italian authorities at the end of August.…
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Back in Licata
The last week was long and a bit nerve-wracking for our crew. Several times we were searching for distress cases whose GPS coordinates we were able to pick up via…
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37 people rescued
Everything happened very quickly: Late yesterday afternoon, the Trotamar III left Lampedusa and set course for the SAR zones in the central Mediterranean Sea.At around 3 am this morning, our…
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Training in Lampedusa
The Trotamar III has arrived in Lampedusa! The weather during the crossing from Sicily to Lampedusa was relatively calm, allowing the crew to complete an offshore dinghy training.Off the coast…
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Our new crew arrived
The crew for our next deployment has arrived in Licata! Astrid, Dhara, Hiba, Maria, and Rob, together with skipper Johannes, will be supporting the Civil Fleet in the central Mediterranean…
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