Sea-Watch

The ship Sea-Watch resumed her operations in November 2018[5][6][7] after it was detained in Malta between July and October.[8]

On 22 December 2018, another of the organisation's ships, Sea-Watch 3, rescued around 32 people,[9] but was unable to dock in Malta, Italy, or Spain.[10][11]

Stickers of Sea-Watch and its Defend solidarity campaign

On 3 January 2019, France, Germany and the Netherlands offered to take some of the 49 migrants blocked off Malta on Sea-Watch and Sea-Eye "as a collective allocation effort".[11][8] According to Mina Andreeva, the spokeswoman of the European Commission, more solidarity is needed along with "foreseeable and sustainable solutions for the landing and re-localization in the Mediterranean"; she quoted the commissioner in charge of migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos.[12]

Two weeks after the rescue, the 49 migrants were still blocked off Malta on Sea-Watch 3 and the Sea-Eye,[13] in spite of an appeal by Pope Francis.[14] On 9 January, they were finally allowed to disembark in Malta[15] after an agreement to relocate them to eight other European countries was reached.[16][17] On 19 January, Sea-Watch 3 rescued 47 further migrants. The Italian government forbade her from entering the port, and initiated legal action against the Netherlands;[18] the organisation referred the case to the European Court of Human Rights.[19] On 29 January, Italy, Germany, France, Malta, Portugal, Romania, and Luxembourg agreed to relocate the 47 migrants.[20] Deputy Prime Minister of Italy Matteo Salvini demanded that Sea-Watch 3 be detained.[20] As the ship was docked at the Italian city Catania to land the migrants, she was blocked by the Italian military on the grounds of "several non-conformities"; the organisation called the obstruction political pressure.[21]

On 19 May 2019, the Italian police seized Sea-Watch 3 at the island Lampedusa, allowing the disembarking of the 47 migrants whom she had recently picked up on 15 May 2019.[22][23] Reports of the operations angered Matteo Salvini, who opposed the landing of the migrants.[23][24] In June 2019, the ship was again detained; 53 migrants had been rescued from the coast of Libya on 12 June.[25] Italy allowed only 11 especially vulnerable people to disembark; on 25 June 2019, the captain of Sea-Watch 3 threatened to land at Lampedusa in spite of the interdiction,[26] eventually entering Italian territorial waters. According to the organisation, it was "not as a provocative act, but out of necessity and responsibility".[27][28][29] A column in French newspaper Le Monde stated that Captain Carola Rackete was only "reminding us all of the existence of international conventions such as that stating rescue at sea is a duty for all".[30] In an editorial in the same newspaper, 700 celebrities supported the migrants and opposed Salvini.[31] A poll by Italian daily Il Giornale showed that 61% of Italians were opposed to Sea-Watch 3 landing at Lampedusa.[32] During the night of 28 to 29 June, the ship was seized, and Carola Rackete was arrested for helping illegal immigration.[33] Sea-Watch 3 later collided with the 50-knot Class 800 patrol boat[34] "808" of Italian law enforcement agency Guardia di Finanza, which had tried to block the larger vessel from docking. The boat was pushed against the dock and slightly damaged.[35] Since the Guardia di Finanza was legally considered a combatant while it protected waterways, the Italian media reported that Rackete could also be charged with attack on a warship, a crime punishable with 3 to 10 years in prison.[36] Two days later, an Italian judge decided that no further incarceration was necessary, and Rackete was released. As of July 2019, the criminal investigation continues.[37]