Reuters reconstructed the journey of a single overcrowded rubber boat carrying 57 people from Libya toward Italy which spent six harrowing hours at sea. Despite repeated distress calls, no coast guard or navy vessel responded. Only an NGO rescue ship, the Geo Barents, eventually reached them.
This dinghy was one of over 1,300 boats that ran into trouble in 2024. Nearly 3,812 people died or went missing trying to reach Europe by sea that year — almost half of them on the central Mediterranean route. This is not an isolated incident. Humanitarian groups say European policies have created a vacuum in search and rescue coverage, leaving migrants to die or be returned to forced labor and abuse in Libya.
The real cost of deterrence
The EU’s crackdown on NGO search and rescue operations has compounded the crisis.
While Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and EU leaders claim success in reducing crossings, rights groups argue that focusing on deterrence is endangering lives. During the first half of 2025, the IOM recorded 588 deaths or disappearances in the central Mediterranean — a 38% drop from the same period in 2024, but still alarmingly high.
Italy’s policy of directing NGO vessels to distant ports after rescues has significantly reduced their ability to patrol and assist more boats. This burden has made it increasingly difficult for organisations like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to operate. In December, MSF suspended its rescue operations, citing unsustainable conditions.
Meanwhile, InfoMigrants reports continued criminalisation of rescue work, including Italy’s 2023 law requiring rescue vessels to head to distant ports after a single rescue. Failure to comply can lead to hefty fines and weeks-long ship detentions. The InfoMigrants team witnessed firsthand a rescue ship being blocked by Italian authorities for returning to Lampedusa to rescue migrants instead of heading to the assigned port.
Libya coast guard’s deliberate cruelty
On average, NGO rescue ships were unavailable for nearly six days per month in 2022. In 2024? Almost 10 days per month.
This leaves migrants crossing the Mediterranean at the mercy of EU border agency Frontex and the Libyan coast guard which is reported to deliberately put small boats in jeopardy.
Reuters reports,
The dinghy’s departure from the Libyan city of Zawiya was nerve-wracking, a then-19-year-old passenger from Sierra Leone told MSF on condition of anonymity.
Libyan authorities intercepted another migrant boat that left from the same beach about 15 minutes before smugglers in military garb pushed their dinghy into the sea, he said in a video recorded by the medical charity.
The passengers were praying not to be sent back to Libya, he said. During a previous attempt in 2021, he said, Libyan authorities boarded his boat, confiscated passengers’ phones and beat them. He was detained for 16 days.
Tell the EU to act!
The EU’s reliance on the Libyan coast guard is a deliberate systemic failure. This is not just a migration issue. It’s a trafficking risk enabled by policy. When governments block rescues and cooperate with known abusers, they’re not just turning a blind eye to abuse. They help drive it.
That’s why we’re calling on the EU to end its cooperation with Libya and stop enabling returns to abuse. Add your name to our campaign today. Demand safe migration routes and real protections—not policies that let people drown.
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