Naples court overturns 45-day detention of  Sea-Watch 5

The 45-day detention of the Sea-Watch 5 and the fine of 7,500 euros have been overturned by the court in Naples.

The sanctions had been imposed on the accusation that Sea-Watch had not communicated with the Libyan authorities during a rescue mission in August.

Sea-Watch considers the procedure unlawful and filed a lawsuit against it. In a preliminary decision, the court followed Sea-Watch’s reasoning and annulled both the determination and the fine. The Sea-Watch 5 can now set sail again to carry out rescue missions.

The sanctions against Sea-Watch were imposed following a rescue operation on August 13, in which the crew of the Sea-Watch 5 rescued six people from the water in international waters. After the Italian authorities instructed the ship to call at the far-flung port of Naples, the crew was accused of not informing the Libyan authorities about the rescue upon arrival. As a result, the ship was detained.

Sea-Watch welcomes the court’s decision as the latest success in a series of successful legal steps against blockades of civilian sea rescue ships on the basis of the so-called Piantedosi Decree. This obliges rescue crews to follow the instructions of the Italian authorities to communicate with the so-called Libyan Coast Guard during rescue operations. Sea-Watch is part of the Justice Fleet, an alliance of civilian sea rescue organizations that categorically rejects cooperation with Libyan actors involved in serious human rights violations.

Sea-Watch spokeswoman Julia Winkler explains:

“This decision shakes up a law that was illegitimate from the start. Libya is not a safe place. The so-called Libyan coast guard is part of the violence from which people are fleeing – and not a legitimate actor in sea rescue. The EU’s cooperation with Libya to externalise migration defence is a crime against human rights. Period.”

Legal successes cannot bring back lost rescue time. Since 2023, the Italian authorities have detained civilian rescue ships more than 40 times, taking away a total of more than 900 days of operation. The detention of the Sea-Watch 5 was already the eighth such measure in 2026 alone. By mid-September, civilian rescue ships had already been prevented from carrying out operations for more than 200 days this year.

These are days when rescue ships were forced to stay in port while people continued to die at sea: in 2026, more than 1,700 people have already died or gone missing on the escape routes across the Mediterranean. Since Giorgia Meloni took office, more than 10,000 people have lost their lives in the Mediterranean.