1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
ChristmasSyriaGerman election 2025
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV

Sea-Watch

Run by a German non-governmental organization, Sea-Watch is known mainly for its operations to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.

Skip next section All Content on this topic

All Content on this topic

DW Podcast | Inside Europe | provisorisch f ROAD

Inside Europe 5 December 2024

The French government collapses, Georgia’s brutal police crackdown, and the UK bill to legalise assisted dying. Then a Justice Special, featuring 'The Future of War Crimes Justice' author Chris Stephen on the ICC, with reports on Sea-Watch's case against the Italian coastguard and a Norwegian miscarriage of justice. OC-Media website link: https://oc-media.org
PoliticsDecember 5, 202455:00 min
The German-flagged Humanity 1 vessel in the Mediterranean

Rescue ships carrying over 500 people land in Italy

The two vessels were allowed to dock amid bad weather despite antagonism from Italian authorities.
Human RightsDecember 11, 2022
German volunteers search from aboard the Seabird, a humanitarian monitoring aircraft, for migrant boats in distress as they fly over the Mediterranean Sea

Sea-Watch said Libyans threatened to shoot down its plane

The Libyan coast guard ultimately pulled migrants from the Mediterranean before sinking their boat.
Human RightsOctober 26, 2022
The German charity Sea-Watch 3 with 444 people on board in the central Mediterranean on Sunday, July 24, 2022

ECJ issues ruling on detaining NGO migrant rescue ships

Europe's top court has ruled that port authorities must demonstrate cause when detaining a ship.
MigrationAugust 1, 2022
Sea-Watch crew member helps a migrant boarding a dinghy in the Mediterranean Sea

Italy: Over 1,000 migrants saved in the Mediterranean

Ships in the Mediterranean Sea rescued migrants trying to reach Europe, with Lampedusa facing a surge in new arrivals.
MigrationJuly 24, 2022
Pope Francis had to take an elevator to his place due to health problems

Pope Francis visits Malta, urges support for migrants

Francis is said to urge EU nations to welcome migrants from Ukraine, but also those trying to cross the Mediterranean.
ReligionApril 2, 2022
Migrants wearing lifejackets and rescuers wearing helmets on the Sea-Watch 3

Over 400 migrants rescued over Christmas weekend

The Greek and Tunisian coast guards have also reported successful rescue missions.
MigrationDecember 27, 2021
Carola Rackete in Italy

Italy drops Carola Rackete charges

In 2019, captain Carola Rackete was detained after she entered the Italian port of Lampedusa with 40 migrants on board.
Law and JusticeDecember 23, 2021
Migrants rescued by Sea Watch rescue vessel October 18, 2021

Pope Francis urges EU not to send back rescued migrants

The pontiff has pleaded countries to offer rescued migrants safe disembarkation at ports and alternatives to detention.
PoliticsOctober 24, 2021
Woman holding up a life vest, approahced by a ruber boat with many people on board

Is sea rescue a pull factor for refugees?

Researchers have investigated claims that sea rescue is a pull factor in asylum-related migration.
PoliticsJune 7, 2021
A boat sailing of the shore of Lampedusa

Over 1,000 migrants arrive on Italian island

Several dangerously overcrowded boats reached the island of Lampedusa as migrant routes resume amid better weather.
SocietyMay 9, 2021
The Sea-Watch 4 rescue ship

Over 100 migrants saved in Mediterranean

Hundreds of people have died in the Mediterranean Sea this year in their search for a better life.
PoliticsApril 30, 2021
Sea-Watch 4 in Palermo

Italy impounds German migrant rescue ship

Italian authorities have confined the migrant rescue vessel Sea-Watch 4 to port in the city of Palermo.
MigrationSeptember 20, 2020
Sea-Watch 3

Italy bars German migrant rescue ship from setting sail

Italian authorities have seized the German migrant rescue ship Sea-Watch 3, citing "several irregularities."
PoliticsJuly 9, 2020
Ausstellung Sea Watch SW5Y Fünf Jahre zivile Seenotrettung

Sea-Watch: 'We shouldn't even exist'

Sea-Watch has been rescuing refugees from drowning in the Mediterranean for five years.
CultureJune 5, 2020
Inner tubes float on water

Coronavirus crisis hampers migrant sea rescues

NGOs say Italy and Malta are using the coronavirus pandemic as a pretext for closing ports to migrant rescue vessels.
MigrationApril 17, 2020
Boehme Henrik Kommentarbild App

We have to talk about the climate

Henrik Böhme
Climate change discussions have reached a fever pitch — but they are mostly lacking a genuine exchange of ideas.
Nature and EnvironmentJanuary 4, 2020
Sea-Watch 3 at Lampedusa port

Sea-Watch rescue boat to resume migrant missions

After a five-month detainment by Italian authorities, Sea-Watch 3 has vowed to return to sea and rescue migrants.
PoliticsDecember 19, 2019
Sea Watch 3

Rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 changes to German flag

The Sea-Watch organization accused the Netherlands of purposely trying to prevent the rescue of drowning refugees.
Human RightsDecember 5, 2019
Christoph Hasselbach

Opinion: Be mainstream or be quiet

Christoph Hasselbach
German society is increasingly intolerant of dissenting opinions, which undermines democracy, says Christoph Hasselbach.
SocietyNovember 1, 2019
The Alan Kurdi humanitarian rescue ship off Libya

EU fails to cement agreement on migrants rescued at sea

Migrants rescued at sea are to be distributed across the EU, but bloc leaders have failed to ink any specifics.
PoliticsOctober 8, 2019
erman boat captain Carola Rackete talks during a Civil Liberties and Justice Committee at the European Parliament in Brussels

Sea Watch captain rebukes EU lawmakers

The captain of Sea Watch 3, who memorably defied Italy's landing ban, chastised EU lawmakers for a lack of action.
PoliticsOctober 3, 2019
Pep Guardiola with Carola Rackete

Guardiola honors German migrant-rescue captain

A ceremony to mark Catalonia's national day honored the German sea captain who helped save the lives of 40 refugees.
Human RightsSeptember 11, 2019
Matteo Salvini

Salvini investigated for libel against Carola Rackete

Rome prosecutors passed the case onto investigators to see whether Salvini incited violence against the boat captain.
Human RightsSeptember 6, 2019
German captain Pia Klemp

Captain of migrant rescue ship refuses Paris award

Pia Klemp has rejected Paris' most prestigious civilian award, the Grand Vermeil Medal.
PoliticsAugust 21, 2019
Archival picture: Confiscated weapons and the logo of criminal Nazi group «Combat 18»

'Enemy lists' alarm victims more than authorities

While people on extremists' "enemy lists" fear for their lives, the Interior Ministry says there's no tangible threat.
PoliticsAugust 14, 2019
A person looking out of the Moonbird with binoculars

Sea-Watch eyes Mediterranean for refugees

DW joins German NGO Sea-Watch on a reconnaissance flights to locate those in peril.
PoliticsAugust 11, 2019
Italian coast guard vessel Bruno Gregoretti

No letup in migrant boat exodus

Italy's interior minister is blocking entry to an Italian coast guard ship carrying 140 rescued migrants.
PoliticsJuly 26, 2019
French President and other minsters, Paris, France

Franco-German migrant plan gets some EU support

The French president gave a positive spin to the partial approval of a plan to allocate migrants across the EU.
PoliticsJuly 22, 2019
Migrants rescued in speed boats

NGO deploys new Med rescue ship

Seven months after it was forced to end migrant rescues, SOS Mediterranee is relaunching activities off Libya.
Human RightsJuly 21, 2019
Carola Rackete waves escorted by Italian police

Rackete: Don't let my case distract from crisis

The captain has pleaded with authorities not to be distracted from the humanitarian crisis.
Human RightsJuly 11, 2019
The Italian NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans' Alex migrant rescue ship carrying 46 migrants rescued off Libya coasts, docks in the port of Lampedusa

Germany urges Italy to open up ports to migrant rescue ships

Germany’s interior minster urges his Italian counterpart Matteo Salvini to open ports to rescue boats.
PoliticsJuly 6, 2019
Sea-Watch sympathizers demonstrating

Germans march in solidarity with Sea-Watch

Thousands of people took to the streets in cities across Germany to support Carola Rackete and Sea-Watch.
SocietyJuly 6, 20196 images
DW Sendung Quadriga 04.07.2019 Totale

Trapped Refugees: Rescue Forbidden?

Ever more refugees and migrants are dying as they attempt to flee war, persecution and poverty.
PoliticsJuly 4, 201926:01 min
A person displays a sign saying #FreeCarola

Sea-Watch captain free after court order

The German captain of a rescue vessel was detained in Italy after refusing to stand down in the face of military orders.
PoliticsJuly 2, 2019
Sea-Watch in Berlin

Sea rescuers slam 'shameful' German, EU refugee policy

Sea-Watch has accused the EU of deliberately allowing dangerous standoffs over migrants at its Mediterranean ports.
Law and JusticeJuly 2, 2019
Carola Rackete, the 31-year-old Sea-Watch 3 captain, is seen onboard the ship as it docks in Lampedusa

UN warns Italy against criminalizing sea rescue

The global organization's comments come after the arrest of German captain Carola Rackete.
Law and JusticeJuly 2, 2019
Bernd Riegert

Unnecessary provocations from both sides

Bernd Riegert
The "Sea-Watch 3" challenge to Italy's government plays into the hands of far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini.
PoliticsJuly 1, 2019
Carola Rackete

Can the Sea-Watch 3 humanitarian captain be jailed?

International maritime law and those of individual countries often don't chime. Nor do many politicians' interests.
Law and JusticeJuly 1, 2019
Carola Rackete, the 31-year-old Sea-Watch 3 captain, is escorted off the ship by police

Celebrity appeal raises €500,000 for Sea-Watch captain

Skipper Carola Rackete faces prison after forcing her way into port with a boat carrying migrants.
Law and JusticeJune 30, 2019
Sea-Watch 3 in Lampedusa port

Salvini dubs Sea-Watch incident 'act of war'

German captain Carola Rackete reportedly apologized to the police for ramming their boat.
ConflictsJune 29, 2019
Carola Rackete on the Sea-Watch 3

What drives someone to risk jail to rescue migrants?

Carola Rackete has been lauded as a heroine and decried as a criminal for the aid she gives asylum-seekers in the Med.
PoliticsJune 29, 2019
Sea Watch off the Sicilian coast

Sea-Watch captain arrested as ship docks at Lampedusa

The German migrant rescue ship entered the port without permission after more than two weeks stranded at sea.
SocietyJune 29, 2019
Podcast Inside Europe

Inside Europe 27.06.2019

Climate change and Europe's searing heatwave - The Czech prime minister survives a no-confidence vote – An unprecedented defeat for the Turkish president - Swedes swap planes for trains for their summer holidays – A migrant rescue vessel ignores Italian ban – Alcohol sales in Scotland reach record low – Greece’s scam culture – And summer picks for good books.
PoliticsJune 28, 201955:00 min
Italien Sea Watch 3 Rettungsaktion vor Lampedusa

Inside Europe: Rescue boat ignores Italian ban

The rescue boat Sea Watch 3 has sailed into Italian territorial waters after spending two weeks in limbo at sea, off Lampedusa. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini tried to ban the vessel from approaching under a "closed ports" policy. But despite that, there's been no let-up in the arrival of migrants in Lampedusa and people say this new decree makes the sea deadlier. Irene Caselli reports.
PoliticsJune 28, 201906:50 min
A sick man is taken off the Sea-Watch 3 on a stretcher

Italy lets 2 more migrants off German rescue ship

Italian authorities have given permission for a sick man and his brother to disembark from Sea Watch 3 rescue ship.
PoliticsJune 28, 2019
Sea-Watch 3

Sea-Watch waits with migrants off Italy

The German Sea-Watch 3 has come closer to the island of Lampedusa, but remains unable to land 42 rescued passengers.
PoliticsJune 27, 2019
Sea-Watch 3 rescue vessel

Germany mulls requests to host Sea-Watch migrants

Dozens of cities, including Berlin and Rottenburg, have offered to take in migrants rescued in the Mediterranean.
PoliticsJune 18, 2019
The German rescue ship Sea-Watch 3

Italy allows 10 migrants to leave Sea-Watch ship

Italy has allowed 10 rescued migrants on board the Sea-Watch 3 to leave the vessel.
PoliticsJune 16, 2019
Deutschland Pia Klemp

Inside Europe: German boat captain faces jail in Italy

German boat captain Pia Klemp is facing a prison sentence in Italy for allegedly aiding illegal migration. She is a member of the NGO Sea Watch, which deploys vessels to rescue asylum seekers trying to escape Libya and reach Europe by boat. Keith Walker speaks with DW's Italy correspondent Megan Williams who begins by going into more detail about what Klemp is accused of.
PoliticsJune 14, 201904:50 min