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.
The reason: we did not communicate with the Libyan authorities when rescuing a boat in distress at sea. However, informing Libya about a distress case at sea is neither compatible with applicable law nor with our conscience. Libya is not a safe country for refugees!
With the help of two experienced lawyers, we managed to free the Trotamar III and suspend the €7,500 fine. But this success cost us €8,000 in court costs and lawyers’ fees.
The court case is still ongoing: we want to set a precedent and stop the detention of civilian rescue ships.
That’s where you come in! Support us with your donation and help us win the court case. You can find our crowdfunding campaign on Startnext.
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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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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Trotamar III is free
Our sailing ship Trotamar III is free again! After around two weeks, the Court in Agrigento has lifted the detention order.After our sailing boat was detained in Lampedusa on August…
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15 days of detention – We’re taking legal action
On 25 August, our sailing vessel was detained by the Italian authorities. Now we know what this means precisely: 15 days of detention and a €7,500 fine.But we will not…
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