Sea-Watch 5
Sea-Watch 5 is a former Norwegian supply ship for wind power and oil platforms. It was converted for a SAR role by the NGO Sea-Watch and used in the Mediterranean sea since 2023 to rescue migrants.
History
[edit]The ship was built in 2010 by Sealink Engineering & Slipway (Malaysia) and commissioned as Bravo Topaz. It sailed under the names Roxanne 42 (2010–2018) and Ocean Don (2018–2022). In 2022, the ship was acquired by the Sea-Watch association for 4.5 million euros[1] and christened as Sea-Watch 5 in Hamburg in early November.[2] The ship was converted in Flensburg during a period running until October 2023. According to the association, the conversions were delayed due to, among other things, strict fire safety regulations.[3]
Vessel details
[edit]The ship is 58.3 metres (191 ft) long and 13.8 metres (45 ft) wide[4] and has been redesigned for its rescue role to accommodate up to 500 people.[5] It has a gross tonnage of 1,452 and is equipped with two 4,400 kilowatts (5,900 hp) Cummins diesel engines for main engines.[6]
Operations
[edit]In December 2023, around six weeks after its commissioning, the Sea-Watch 5 rescued around 100 people in distress in the Mediterranean during its first missions in international waters and provided them with first aid on board.[7]
In May 2025 the ship rescued 190 people from the sea and delivered them to the port of Marina di Carrara in Tuscany.[8]
In late September 2025 the activists claimed to be 40 nautical miles off the Libiyan coast when they picked up some 66 migrants from a fiberglass boat at night. The captain steered that boat back to Libya after the migrants were on Sea-Watch 5. A Libyan coast guard vessel later approached Sea-Watch 5 and demanded them to leave the area, with some crewmembers hearing a gunshot from the Libyan vessel. On their way back they picked up another group of migrants and finally landed 124 migrants from Bangladesh and Sudan in Italy.[9]
On 12 December 2025 the activists picked up 69 migrants in the Strait of Sicily in two operations and were given La Spezia as port to disembark them. Minors were allowed by Italian authorities to leave earlier in Pantelleria.[10]
On 24 January 2026 the activists picked up 18 migrants in international waters and headed for Italy. The ship was detained by Italian authorities after disembarking the migrants in Catania and Sea Watch was fined 7,500 Euro for not coordinating with the Libyan coastguard.[11] The detention was overturned by a court in Catania in February 2026.[12]
On 18 March 2026 the activists again cited an emergency to ignore Italian authorities designated port Marina di Carrara for disembarking and headed for Trapani instead to unload some 100 migrants they had picked up earlier. Sea-Watch was also found to have not coordinated with the Libyan coastguard during the rescue. Sea Watch was fined 10,000 Euro and Sea-Watch 5 was impounded for 20 days.[13]
By 13 May 2026 the Sea-Watch 5 had picked up a total of 166 migrants in several separate rescue operations and headed back to Italy.[14] The activists claimed to have been threatened by Libyan authorities during their stay off the Libyan coast with patrol boats firing machine guns in their direction.[15] The Sea-Watch 5 crew was investigated by Italian authorities for "Facilitation of illegal entry" and the ship was searched after its arrival in Brindisi.[16] The investigation was apparently based around the events on 12 May 2026, when the crew of Sea Watch 5 claimed to look for a lost boat of migrants, while Frontex surveillance and video evidence filmed by migrants themselves showed the activists were directly approached by smugglers on a speedboat, who handed the migrants over to a Sea Watch 5 boat.[17]
The ship was moved to the port of Taranto and the captain, commanding the May 2026 operation, dutch national Anne van Dam, is being investigated by the public prosecutor's office for aiding illegal entry. Sea Watch replaced him as captain for the duration of the investigation.[18][19]
On 12 July 2026 the activists approached Carrara to deliver 50 migrants who had been picked up earlier in the Southern Mediterranean.[20]
References
[edit]- ↑ ""Sea Watch 5" hat Flensburg verlassen" ["Sea Watch 5" has left Flensburg]. ndr.de (in German). Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ↑ "Kiel: "Sea Watch 5" bereit für Einsätze im Mittelmeer" [Kiel: "Sea Watch 5" ready for operations in the Mediterranean] (in German). Archived from the original on 15 September 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ↑ "Sea-Watch 5: Ohne Dich keine Rettung | #IchRetteMit" [Sea-Watch 5: No rescue without you | #ISaveWith]. Sea-Watch e.V. (in German). Archived from the original on 9 January 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ↑ "Multi-Purpose Vessel 2". www.asiasealink.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ↑ "Besuch auf dem neuen Rettungsschiff von "Sea-Watch"" [Visit to the new rescue ship of "Sea-Watch"]. stern.de (in German). 7 November 2022. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ↑ "OCEAN DON, IMO 9421556". www.balticshipping.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ↑ ""Sea-Watch 5" rettet 118 Menschen im Mittelmeer" ["Sea-Watch 5" rescues 118 people in the Mediterranean]. tagesschau.de (in German). Archived from the original on 20 June 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ↑ "Sea-Watch 5 disembarks 190 migrants in Tuscan port". InfoMigrants. 13 May 2025. Archived from the original on 15 May 2025. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ↑ Schroer, Fabian (29 September 2025). "Fabian Schroer:""Verschwindet aus meinen Gewässern""" [Fabian Schroer: "Get out of my waters"]. Taz.de. Archived from the original on 29 September 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
- ↑ "Sea Watch 5 con 70 migranti alla Spezia lunedì mattina, una parte resterà in Liguria" [Sea Watch 5 to arrive with 70 migrants in La Spezia on Monday morning, some will remain in Liguria.]. primocanale.it. 13 December 2025. Archived from the original on 10 January 2026. Retrieved 13 December 2025.
- ↑ "Italien setzt Rettungsschiff "Sea-Watch 5" fest, NGO protestiert" [Italy detains rescue ship Sea-Watch 5, NGO protests]. derstandard.at. 31 January 2026. Archived from the original on 31 January 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ↑ "Migranti, il tribunale di Catania revoca il fermo di Sea Watch 5" [Migrants: Catania Court Revokes Sea-Watch 5 Detention]. repubblica.it. 19 February 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ↑ "Italien setzt „Sea-Watch 5" nach Mittelmeer-Rettung fest und verhängt Geldstrafe" [Italy impounds Sea-Watch 5 and imposes a fine]. welt.de. 31 March 2026. Archived from the original on 31 March 2026. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
- ↑ "Migranti, a Bari sbarcano in 152: in molti ustionati, ci sono 27 minori. Sea Watch 5 verso Brindisi" [152 migrants disembark in Bari, many of them with burns, including 27 minors. Sea-Watch 5 heads for Brindisi.]. repubblica.it (in Italian). 13 May 2026. Archived from the original on 13 May 2026. Retrieved 13 May 2026.
- ↑ "Raffiche di mitra dei libici contro SeaWatch5 dopo un salvataggio. L'ong: "Ci hanno sparato addosso"" [Libyans fired machine gun fire at SeaWatch5 after a rescue. The NGO said, "They shot at us."]. repubblica.it (in Italian). 11 May 2026. Archived from the original on 12 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "Perquisita la ong tedesca SeaWatch, sequestrati documenti e attrezzature: "Attacco alla solidarietà"" [German NGO Sea-Watch Raided; Documents and Equipment Seized: “An Attack on Solidarity”]. repubblica.it (in Italian). 16 May 2026. Archived from the original on 16 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
- ↑ "Il vizio di Sea Watch: altro soccorso sospetto il giorno dopo. "Sono stati i migranti ad avvicinarsi..."" [Sea Watch’s habit: another suspicious rescue the very next day. "It were the migrants who approached..."]. ilgiornale.it. 18 July 2026. Archived from the original on 18 July 2026. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
- ↑ "Migranti, ora Sea Watch teme il blocco navale italiano: "Progetti preoccupanti"" [Migrants: Sea Watch now fears Italian naval blockade – “Worrying plans”]. ilgiornale.it (in Italian). 12 June 2026. Archived from the original on 18 June 2026. Retrieved 12 June 2026.
- ↑ "„Sie interessierten sich für mich, nicht für die Schüsse"" [They are intrested in me, not in the shots fired]. taz.de (in German). 11 June 2026. Archived from the original on 18 June 2026. Retrieved 11 June 2026.
- ↑ "Arriva a Carrara la Sea Watch con 50 migranti a bordo" [Sea Watch Arrives in Carrara with 50 Migrants on Board]. telegranducato.it (in Italian). 11 July 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.