Humanity-1

Italy has detained the 'Humanity 1' for the second time, after it rescued migrants in the Mediterranean. According to the aid organization SOS Humanity, the "Humanity 1" has to remain in the port of Trapani, where it arrived on Feb 13, 2026, for 60 days before it is allowed to sail again. Authorities have also imposed a fine of €10,000 Euro. The "Humanity 1" had rescued 33 people and recovered two bodies during its most recent mission. The Italian government justified the detention by stating that the crew once again violated regulations on the high seas. SOS Humanity confirmed that the crew had not communicated with Libya's MRCC, because the agency is responsible for serious human rights violations against asylum seekers.

The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ordered the temporary detention of the 'Humanity in the port of Ortona, after the crew had rescued 160 people in the central Mediterranean and failed to notify Libyan authorities of the operation. The vessel docked at the Abruzzo port of Ortona with 85 migrants on board, including a number of unaccompanied minors, on the afternoon of Dec 1. The migrants hailed from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Morocco and Sudan, among other countries. They were rescued in international waters on Nove 26 from a wooden double-decker boat that had departed from Libya. After the ship docked, procedures coordinated by the Prefecture of Chieti were carried out to identify the passengers and to check their medical condition. The migrants were subsequently transferred to different regions as part of a plan ordered by the interior ministry. Following the disembarkation of the 85 people, the ship was banned from sailing.

SOS Humanity has won its first court case against the Italian government in the context of dozens of illegal and arbitrary detentions of civilian rescue vessels. On June 17, 2025, the Italian Court of Appeal in Catanzaro upheld the landmark ruling of the Crotone Court from2024, clarifying that the EU-funded so-called Libyan Coast Guard could not be considered a legitimate SAR actor in the Mediterranean. Furthermore, the ruling confirmed that SOS Humanity acted in accordance with international law during its rescue operations and that the detention of the 'Humanity 1' was unlawful. SOS Humanity is now suing the Italian government for damages. The court confirmed that Libya cannot be considered a safe haven for refugees. The appellants – the Italian Ministries of the Interior, Transport, and Finance – have now decided not to appeal the ruling. SOS Humanity is now suing for compensation for the financial losses incurred as a result of the unlawful detention of its ship. In March 2024, the 'Humanity 1' was detained by the Italian government after rescuing 77 people in distress at sea, accused of disobeying instructions from Libyan authorities and thereby endangering human lives. The NGO successfully appealed the decision in expedited proceedings before the Civil Court in Crotone, which declared the detention of the 'Humanity 1' unlawful and ordered its immediate release. In June 2024, the Civil Court upheld and reinforced its decision, emphasizing that the so-called Libyan Coast Guard is not a legitimate sea rescue actor in the Mediterranean. It also clarified that unlawful instructions from the so-called Libyan Coast Guard must not be obeyed.

The 'Humanity 1' reached Siracusa on Oct 4 with 39 migrants on board and the bodies of two migrants who died shortly after a rescue operation south-east of the island of Lampedusa. Seven others drowned before the arrival of the rescue ship. The 39 surviving migrants aboard an overcrowded dinghy in distress were rescued on Oct 3. The migrants -- mostly Sudanese war refugees -- had managed to stay afloat amid waves as high as three metres, with no water or food. The boat was assisted by the 'Humanity 1' on the afternoon in the Maltese SAR zone southeast of Lampedusa. The Italian authorities had initially assigned Bari as safe port, located at a distance of 1,000 kilometers from the rescue area, in spite of adverse weather conditions and a critical medical situation on board. Many of those rescued, including several minors, were in need of assistance. When they were rescued, the migrants had been travelling at sea for at least four days,Many of the 41 rescued were so worn out they could barely stand. They were all dehydrated and suffered from hypothermia. The evening and night were filled with medical emergencies. One person died ,and attempts to evacuate the migrants by helicopter failed due to bad weather conditions. Another person collapsed and died, despite prompt medical intervention. The Italian Coas guard medevaced five people and took them to a health center on Lampedusa only after weather conditions improved in the early hours of Oct 4. The evacuated included a mother and son who had severe burns caused by a mixture of gasoline and salted war on the dinghy.

The Italian government has designated Ravenna as a safe port for the 'Humanity 1', which was expected to arrive on the morning of Aug 28 with 51 rescued migrants on board. The decision was communicated by the Italian Ministry of Interior to the Municipality in Emilia-Romagna on Aug 23, following the rescue of the migrants by the NGO ship. The Mayor of Ravenna, Alessandro Barattoni, recalled that this was the 24th ship of NGOs to arrive in the port in two and a half years and said, the ship would be the last one to dock in Ravenna until a national roundtable of the cities identified as having safe ports has been held in Rome. The Municipality of Ravenna had always cooperated with the Ministry and the Prefecture to assure the best logistic and organizational conditions during the arrivals, but at the same time it also always denounced the inhumanity and lack of coherence of the choices of the safe ports that are far from the sea rescue areas. Also on board the 'Humanity 1',, there were many criticisms concerning the choice of RAvenna as safe port: "Once again, Italian authorities fail to allow those rescued the right to dock at a safe and nearby port! We were assigned the port of Ravenna, which is slightly more than 1.600 kilometers from the place where we rescued 51 persons, among them approximately 10 unaccompanied minors," stated the NGO on Aug 24.

The 'Humanity 1' has rescued 26 refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. The people disembarked in Brindisi on the morning of July 15, after a four-day voyage. The crew of the "Humanity 1" rescued the boat people on July 11 in international waters off Libya. They had set off from Libya and found themselves in distress a few kilometers from the coast. Photos: https://x.com/soshumanity_en/status/1943632213775446118 https://x.com/soshumanity_en/status/1945080141899579518

The 'Humanity 1' arrived at the port of Ravenna on March 2, 2025, after rescuing 71 migrants, including 16 unaccompanied minors and nine women, in the Central Mediterranean. The majority of the migrants came from Eritrea (51 persons) and Ethiopia (nine persons). The rest were from Nigeria, The Gambia, Sudan, Cameroon, Benin, the Ivory Coast, Niger, Mali, and Togo. The group included 46 men, 16 unaccompanied minors and nine women. Among them were three families. 50 people were transferred to nearby Bologna, 80 kilometers inland from Ravenna; the others will stay in Ravenna. The migrants had been rescued on Feb 24 from a rubber dinghy in the Mediterranean over 1,600 kilometers away from the port of Ravenna. Some survivors had burns caused by fuel; some said they were tortured in Libya and show visible signs of it. Some survivors were suffering from pulmonary infections. The NGO had asked the Italian authorities to assign them a closer port, citing the mental and physical health of the survivors on board the 'Humanity 1' and worsening weather conditions, but their request had not been granted. Report with photo: https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/63181/italy-71-migrants-disembark-from-rescue-ship-humanity-1

The 'Humanity 1' has rescued 195 migrants in the Mediterranean. The ship was now heading for the port of Marina di Carrara, the aid organization SOS Humanity announced on Nov 29. the boat people were taken on board in four missions since Nov 27. On the night of NMov 27, the ship rescued 47 people from distress from an overcrowded and unseaworthy boat, which also had four masked men on board, who were identified by the rescued people as members of the so-called Libyan coast guard. The men pushed the 47 people off the boat and remained aboard. They withdrew immediately after the rescue. Most recently, 46 people were rescued from an unseaworthy wooden boat on the evening of Nov 28. They had fled Libya and had spent more than 24 hours on the boat without life jackets.

On Aug 11, the 'Humanity 1' has rescued 273 migrants during four missions on the Mediterranean Sea. 100 of them were minors. The boats were en route fromLibya The ship was advised to proceed to the port of Genova to disembark them.