Frontex must be replaced with real European rescue program- Sea Watch International

Sea-Watch International has accused the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, of obstructing rescue operations in the Mediterranean and called for the agency to be replaced with what it described as a “real European rescue programme.”

In a post published on its verified X account, @seawatch_intl, the humanitarian organisation alleged that Frontex deliberately hindered efforts to rescue migrants during an incident on June 25.

According to Sea-Watch, its rescue vessel Aurora responded to a mayday relay after receiving reports of people in distress at sea. The organisation claimed that a Frontex surveillance aircraft repeatedly ignored the vessel despite being aware that assistance was on the way.

Sea-Watch further alleged that after Frontex relayed the distress call, its reconnaissance aircraft, Seabird, arrived at the scene and intercepted radio communications indicating that the Frontex crew knew both Aurora and the Italian Coast Guard were responding.

The organisation claimed that despite this knowledge, the Frontex aircraft continued transmitting distress calls, which repeatedly updated the location of the migrant boat. Sea-Watch alleged that because Libyan forces were already operating nearby, the continued location updates appeared intended to facilitate an interception and the return of the migrants to Libya.

“It looked like an attempt to enable the interception of people and force them back to Libya,” the organisation said in the statement.

Sea-Watch criticised Frontex’s role in European migration management, arguing that the agency’s mandate is focused on border enforcement rather than saving lives.

“We need to be clear: Frontex’s mandate is not rescue. Its role is to violently close off EU borders, and people on the move are paying the price,” the organisation said.

Sea-Watch concluded by urging the European Union to replace Frontex with what it described as a genuine European search-and-rescue programme dedicated to protecting lives in the Mediterranean.

Frontex had not publicly responded to the allegations at the time of reporting.