Approximately 140 migrants, adults and children, were rescued in the Mediteranean this week. Like the hundreds of thousands of others that have attempted to reach Europe from Africa over the last 10 years, they had one thing in common: they had risked their lives in the crossing.
Often persons attempting such voyages, even the children, have been trying to reach safety for years, escaping war, persecution, poverty or violence in their home countries or in the countries where they boarded the boat they hoped would take them to a safe haven.
One of the rescues just this week was undertaken by the crew of the Ocean Viking humanitarian rescue ship operated by the NGO SOS MEDITERRANEE. The other was coordinated by the Hellenic Coast Guard with assistance from a Maltese-flagged cargo vessel.
Despite the two success stories, the last decade has been marred by countless preventable tragedies as governments have increasingly sought an interception and push-back model rather than one focused on rescue. This has left volunteers and merchant vessels assuming a greater role in at-sea rescues.
"SOS MEDITERRANEE marks ten years of civilian search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean. From 2016 to 2025, the organisation assisted 43,078 people in distress through 457 rescue operations, first with the Aquarius and later with the Ocean Viking."
SOS MEDITERRANEE 9 March 2026
“SOS MEDITERRANEE has marked 10 years of operation this week with the release of a report that recounts a decade marred by shrinking state-led rescue and increasing obstruction of volunteer rescue efforts,” says David Hammond, founder of Human Rights at Sea. Despite this, and because of this, he sees their 10-year operational anniversary is a success story in resilience and humanitarian action at sea.
SOS MEDITERRANEE volunteers have been fired on at sea without warning. They have faced growing administrative restrictions and stand-offs at sea, and they have lost 519 operational days after being detained or assigned to distant ports for migrant disembarkation. Despite these challenges, the organisation assisted 43,078 people in distress through 457 rescue operations.
“Whilst the subject of migrants and refugees has been, and continues to be divisive, within the European community, and wider, the persistence of volunteers such as SOS MEDITERRANEE demonstrates an unshakable belief in the fundamental human right to life and liberty,” says Hammond.
“While Human Rights at Sea recognises the social pressure that providing reception services for a large number of migrants can place on any state, vulnerable people should not be denied their rights based on lawful access to that state. All persons at sea, without any distinction, are entitled to their fundamental human rights being protected as per customary international law.”
Mixed and indeed increased migrant flows across seas will most likely continue, says Hammond.
“Migration has always been a feature of human existence, and forced displacement is today’s greatest humanitarian and development challenge. As global population levels pass 8.3 billion, the absolute scale of global migration will increase. Irregular mixed migration by sea is likely to be a permanent feature of our world. How it is dealt with is a highly controversial issue, with no easy solutions, but I am heartened by the example that SOS MEDITERRANEE is setting.
“Human Rights at Sea will continue to monitor the situation of migrants and refugees at sea and advocate for the need for access to a safe port for disembarkation and for meaningful responsibility sharing between the EU and other countries in the region.”
Related
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) provides the following statistics (last updated 3 February 2026) Mediterranean Sea arrivals:
Year Arrivals * Dead and missing
2026 14,547 55
2025 155,100 1,953
2024 199,400 3,580
2023 275,200 4,110
2022 173,400 3,017
2021 132,800 3,231
2020 96,800 1,881
2019 123,700 1,510
2018 141,400 2,277
2017 185,100 3,139
2016 372,800 5,096
2015 1,031,700 3,771
* Include sea arrivals to Italy and Malta, and both sea and land arrivals to Cyprus, Greece and Spain (including the Canary Islands).
https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/europe-sea-arrivals
About SOS MEDITERRANEE
SOS MEDITERRANEE is an international maritime and humanitarian organisation dedicated to saving lives at sea. It was founded by citizens in May 2015 in response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Central Mediterranean, and the failure of the European Union to prevent the rising death toll.
Since the beginning of its operations in 2016, SOS MEDITERRANEE rescued 42, 708 people.
PRESS CONTACTS
International
Lucille Guenier / +33 6 34 60 36 83
l.guenier@sosmediterranee.org
Alisha Vaya / +33 6 34 10 41 33
a.vaya@sosmediterranee.org
ENDS.
Source: Human Rights at Sea 2026. Author: Wendy Laursen.
AI. AI was not used in this article.
Photo Credit: Anthony Jean / SOS MEDITERRANEE
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