The Berlin-based rescue organization SOS Humanity said it had rescued 71 migrants in distress in the Central Mediterranean during two operations, bringing them aboard its new rescue vessel, Humanity 2. The rescues come amid growing concern among humanitarian groups over the worsening situation in the Mediterranean, where dozens of bodies believed to be those of migrants have been recovered from the sea in recent weeks.
SOS Humanity rescued 71 people in distress during two rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean carried out on Friday and Saturday (August 28 and 29).
In a statement released on Saturday, SOS Humanity reported that the group of survivors was disembarked in Lampedusa, Italy, the assigned port of safety.
The SOS Humanity statement outlined the details of the two rescue operations as follows:
August 28, around 12 noon – First rescue: A group of 12 people in a small fiberglass boat was spotted in international waters off Libya. The passengers, identified as four women and eight men, were said to have departed from Zuwarah, Libya, on Thursday evening. They were without life jackets or navigational equipment.
August 29, around 4:00 am (CEST) – Second rescue: While sailing north, the crew sighted another boat crammed with 59 people. The passengers were in various states of distress and were reported to be weak and dehydrated. They had departed from Libya Friday evening. All of the passengers were also disembarked in Lampedusa.
The rescue operations were carried out on the Humanity 2, a new SOS Humanity vessel. The Berlin-based maritime rescue organization reported the weekend’s rescue mission marked the first time that they had two vessels in operation in the Mediterranean Sea since it began conducting rescue missions. It will sail primarily in the waters off Tunisia or further south, alongside the Humanity 1, doubling the organization's operational capacity.
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Bodies floating in the sea
In August alone, an estimated 32 bodies believed to belong to migrants were found floating in the water or washed ashore on the Libyan coast. Mediterranean shore near Tripoli and at sea in international waters.
On the morning of August 25, SOS Humanity reported spotting three bodies in the sea.
Due to the advanced state of decomposition of the bodies, SOS Humanity reported that it was not possible for the crew of the sailing ship Humanity 2 to retrieve them.
"The humanitarian crisis in the Central Mediterranean continues to worsen, yet the public is no longer paying attention," Nina Geisler, Managing Director of SOS Humanity, said in a statement.
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Sailing yacht converted into rescue vessel by volunteers
The Humanity 2 sailed from Syracuse, Sicily on Friday (August 21) to embark on its first rescue mission. The vessel is reported to have been a privately owned sailing yacht that SOS Humanity purchased at the end of 2025. Over 100 volunteers worked for over 9 months to convert the yacht into a rescue vessel with provisions for 10 staff and over 100 rescued people. There is an on-board clinic and safe area for women and children.
Local Italian media La Sicilia reported that David Yambio, the executive director of Refugees in Libya, was named the vessel’s "godfather" at the christening of the Humanity 2. Drawing on his experience of fleeing through Libya and crossing the Mediterranean, Yambio explained why civilian rescue capacity and monitoring of human-rights violations were needed.
"We will also deploy 30,000 civilian ships if necessary, despite any attempt to criminalize our solidarity," said Yambio.
United4Rescue supported the Humanity 2’s first mission with a donation of 160,000 euros.
The maiden voyage of the SOS Humanity 2 comes in the wake of rising deaths in the Mediterranean Sea.
According to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 1,330 migrants have already drowned or gone missing along the Central Mediterranean route in 2026, marking the deadliest start to a year since 2014.
The emergency situation in the Mediterranean Sea runs parallel to other pressures faced by rescue organizations, which include dwindling funding support, punitive fines imposed by states, and administrative detentions. Sailing to distant ports assigned by Italy, increasing fuel, personnel and legal costs are all restricting day-to-day operations.
"Our rescue operations are on the brink. If we do not receive additional support, we will have to suspend missions. Given that more than one thousand people have already died in the Mediterranean this year, that would be a catastrophe. If non-governmental search and rescue also disappears now, significantly more people will drown. This is not an inevitable fate, but a direct result of political decisions," says SOS Humanity General Director Till Rummenhohl in a statement.