From the early hours of the morning on June 21st 2024, the crew assisted a rubber boat in distress and provided the people with life jackets. However, the responsible coordination centers for sea rescue did not respond to the distress call that the crew had made after sighting the boat.
When the so-called Libyan Coast Guard arrived on the scene at around 11 a.m., some people jumped into the water out of panic. Fortunately, these people could be rescued on the Trotamar III. Faced with the threat of an illegal pullback by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, the crew had no choice but to bring also the other people from the rubber boat onto the Trotamar III.
The people on board are now being provided with water, tea, hot food and rescue blankets. One person is being treated with a fuel burn caused by a mixture of fuel and salt water. The refugees had set off from Zuwara in Libya in a rubber boat. Among them were 5 babies and small children.
The crew of the Trotamar III is now heading for Lampedusa and is still waiting for a response from the authorities and the necessary assignment of a Port of Safety. In view of the cramped conditions on the 13-metre-long sailing boat, only Lampedusa is an option, which the Trotamar III is expected to reach tomorrow in the course of the day.
UPDATE 21.06.2024 – 22:00 CET
Yesterday evening at around 10 p.m., the crew of the Trotamar III handed over all the rescued people to the Italian coastguard on the open sea. The 65 people, including 11 women and 4 minors, have now been taken to Italy. Previously, the crew had handed over 6 people to Nadir of @resqship by order of the authorities. Two of the people are in a poor state of health.
The Trotamar III and the Nadir are now sailing together to Lampedusa. Slowed by increasing wind and waves, they will probably arrive there in the course of the day. Then the last of the rescued people will also be able to set foot on European soil.
Update: 24.06.2024 – Back to home port
The Trotamar III has just returned to her home port of Licata on the south coast of Sicily and has thus completed its fourth deployment in
2024. In the eventful last few days, the crew was able to rescue 65 people
from an overcrowded rubber boat, saving them from a pullback to Libya.
The crew then handed the people over to the Italian
Coast Guard and to the Nadir of @resqsihp. We sincerely hope that all those rescued will recover from this traumatic incident on safe ground in Italy.
During the rescue the guard rail was damaged when many people climbed up onto the Trotamar III at the same time. In order to take the next crew safely on the next deployment, please donate for the repair and optimization of the guard rail!
Donate here: https://compass-collective.org/#spenden
Photo: CompassCollective
Photo: CompassCollective
Photo: CompassCollective
Photo: CompassCollective
Photo: CompassCollective
Photo: CompassCollective
Photo: CompassCollective
Photo: CompassCollective
Photo: CompassCollective
Back in Licata
An eventful deployment is coming to an end and we are back in Licata. After we were unable to go out into the Mediterranean Sea for a long time at the beginning of the deployment due to a storm, events came full circle last week: on the way to another sea emergency, we found the…
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We supported 52 people in distress at sea
Yesterday evening at 8.19 pm. we found a wooden boat with 52 people on board. The engine had stopped working and the boat was unable to maneuver. In the darkness, it quickly became clear that there was an immediate danger of life of the people on board if conditions got only just a bit worse.…
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TROTAMAR III setting sail to search and rescue
Yesterday evening, the TROTAMAR III left the port of Licata in Sicily and set course for the search and rescue zone. On board is a well-prepared crew of six under skipper Matthias and co-skipper Ina. After storms and extreme rainfall, the waves and wind south of Sicily are now manageable and we are now ready…
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SAR Trainings
Today, the crew of the current deployment set sail for the first time totest sail with the Trotamar III. Off the coast ofLicata, they practiced various manoeuvres with the dinghy.We use the dinghy to make contact with people in distress at sea,provide them with life jackets or bring people on board of our ship in…
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Preperations in Licata
Before we set sail, our sailing boat, the Trotamar III, has to be prepared for the deployment. Yesterday, for example, our crew in Sicily installed a fresh water pump, worked on the solar panels and installed a new AIS device (a device for receiving and sending ship data). But it’s not just the technical equipment…
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Our new crew is ready to start!
Toki, Alex, Olli, Friedrich, our skipper Matthias and our co-skipper Ina are going on our ninth and last deployment this year. Over the next few weeks, the six of them will be supporting civilian sea rescue in the Mediterranean Sea on the Trotamar III However, accompanying people on their way to Europe is not something…
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Crew wanted
We are looking for you to join our volunteer crews in 2025!Are you a sailor, technically adept or media-savvy and communicative? Do you have experience as a dinghy driver, medic, from search & rescue deployments or in the field of awareness? Then we are looking for you for one of our deployments next year!As one…
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TROTAMAR III – DISEMBARKATION ON LAMPEDUSA
The crew of the Trotamar III has disembarked all rescued people safely on Lampedusa.Our sailing ship was underway to Lampedusa for almost a day – with 62 people on board, rescued from an unseaworthy rubber boat on Tuesday evening. During the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Sea Eye 5 from @seaeye_org was able to…
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TROTAMAR III – 60 PEOPLE ON BOARD
Yesterday the crew of the Trotamar III received a distress call for a boat in the Tunisian Search & Rescue zone and set off in search of the overcrowded rubber boat. At 7pm, the crew found the boat with over 90 people on board. At this point, it was already dark. Water had gotten into…
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TROTAMAR III – TRAINING ON LINOSA
The Trotamar III is anchored off Linosa, where the crew continues to prepare the upcoming deployment. With the dinghy, crew members practise making contact with a migrant vessel, distributing life jackets and rescuing unconscious people.On board the Trotamar III is an extensive range of rescue equipment with which the crew can come to the aid…
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