Tonight we assisted a migrant vessel: 70 people, including 10 children, who were struggling with the 2 meter high waves on an unseaworthy wooden boat.

After the people in distress first spotted a Dutch freighter on the horizon, they changed course to follow this boat. However, the freighter was not heading towards Europe, but towards Tunisia!

After we made a distress call and alerted the authorities, the freighter finally received official instructions to stop and halted its journey. The migrant vessel with the 70 people also stopped. Only now we were able to hand out life jackets and drinking water to the people and assess the situation.

Two hours later came the relieving moment: a boat from the Italian coastguard arrived and picked up all the people.

New Motor

21 December, 2025

13,000 euros! That’s how much money we currently need to renovate the engine room. “Do you even have an engine on your sailboat?” We often hear this question. Yes, we…

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Back in Licata

15 December, 2025

The Trotamar III is back in Licata!After a short but eventful passage to the Search and Rescue area, our crew has returned to Sicily. Last week, we were able to…

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19 people rescued

10 December, 2025

No sooner has our crew arrived in the search and rescue zones than everything happens very quickly: from the deck of the Trotamar III, we spot a boat on the…

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Sailing south

10 December, 2025

We are sailing to the Search and Rescue Zones!After a long wait for a weather window and lots of training, our crew was able to leave Licata and is now…

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Trainings in Licata

4 December, 2025

Training, training, training: In Licata, our crew is busy preparing for the upcoming deployment. This includes dinghy training in the harbour basin of our home port Licata, but also offshore…

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New crew

2 December, 2025

Our new crew has arrived in Licata. Andi, Leara, Stephi, Thorsten, and Toni will join skipper Matthias on our last deployment in 2025.The preparations are the same as for our…

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53 people rescued

9 November, 2025

After waiting for a day and a half and dozens of emails and phone calls later, the good news finally arrvied yesterday: we were allowed to take the 53 people…

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53 people stranded near oilplatform

6 November, 2025

At 6 am this morning, the crew of the Trotamar III received an unusual call via radio: the managers of the Miskar oil platform informed us that 53 people on…

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16 people rescued

2 November, 2025

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

26 October, 2025

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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