Licata (Sicily) / Wendland, July 29, 2026

Yesterday, the Administrative Court of Agrigento (Sicily) suspended the current detention order against the rescue vessel Trotamar III. In doing so, the court partially granted an urgent appeal filed by CompassCollective and its lawyers to challenge the detention order issued on June 30, 2026. The court cited, among other things, the “dangerous situation in the central Mediterranean” during the summer – when more refugees attempt to cross the sea – as grounds for suspending the administrative detention. 

However, the court did not suspend the fine of 10,000 euros, which had been imposed by the Italian authorities under the Piantedosi Decree along with the original 45-day detention order. The detention was issued after the crew of the Trotamar III rescued 25 people in distress in the Libyan search and rescue zone on June 29, 2026, without communicating with the Libyan authorities. Skipper Matthias Wiedenlübbert comments: “We were able to prevent the so-called Libyan Coast Guard, which showed up shortly after our rescue, from forcibly returning these people to Libya. Libya is not a safe country for refugees: they face a vicious cycle of violence, imprisonment, and torture. Communicating with Libya means complicity in human rights violations. That is out of the question for us.”

The court case regarding the third detention of the Trotamar III will be heard in an initial hearing on September 8, 2026, and will continue until a final decision is reached. In this regard, the CompassCollective points out that the so-called Libyan Joint Rescue Coordination Center is not a competent authority and that the so-called Libyan Coast Guard carries out violent pullbacks rather than rescues. Furthermore, the NGO criticizes the illegality of the Piantedosi Decree, on the basis of which Italian authorities repeatedly criminalize civil sea rescue vessels for their work in the Mediterranean – even though this work is carried out in accordance with international maritime law.

About the CompassCollective

The CompassCollective, with its sailboat TROTAMAR III, comes from the Wendland, a region in Lower Saxony that was shaped for 40 years by the debate over nuclear energy. Civil society protests ultimately succeeded in preventing the construction of a nuclear waste repository in Gorleben and are now providing the momentum to sail in solidarity against border externalisation and the loss of life in the Mediterranean.

The TROTAMAR III has been carrying out search and rescue operations off the Tunisian and Libyan coasts for three years. In 24 operations, 2017 people were rescued by the Italian coastguard after the crew of the sailing boat had provided them with life jackets and drinking water for hours. To date, 432 people have been rescued directly onto the sailing boat and brought to safety in Lampedusa.

Press contact

Ina Friebe
presse@compass-collective.orgMatthias Wiedenlübbert, Skipper
+49 170 804 2056