Most of the migrants had reportedly set sail from Libya. The news of the rescue by the SOS Mediterranee comes in the wake of the detention of the SOS Humanity operated rescue ship by Italian authorities.
The crew of the SOS Mediterranee rescued seventy eight people during three separate operations in the Maltese search and rescue region yesterday (September 8), the aid organization said in a statement.
Twelve women and two babies aged two days old and five months, were among those rescued. The survivors were reported to have been adrift at sea for about 26 hours and were suffering from heat, exhaustion, dehydration, and fuel burns. Some were wearing life jackets that would not have provided adequate protection, had they been needed.
In a statement, SOS Mediterranee provided details about the three rescue operations:
- First deployment: 17 people rescued, including women and unaccompanied minors who had set sail from Libya and had spent approximately 26 hours at sea
- Second deployment: 16 more people rescued after the surveillance aircraft SeaBird 3 spotted another fiberglass boat in distress. The group had also set sail from Libya and were adrift at sea for about 24 hours. The survivors had life jackets on but these reportedly did not offer enough protection from the sea.
- Third deployment: 45 people in a dinghy in distress were rescued.
On board the Ocean Viking, one of the rescued children said: "This is the second time we’ve tried. The first time, we almost drowned."
A safe port has not yet been assigned by the Italian authorities and the survivors are reportedly all receiving medical treatment on board.
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Another rescue ship detained
The series of rescue operations conducted by the Ocean Viking comes in the wake of the detention of another rescue ship, the Humanity 2, which is operated by the organization SOS Humanity.
The Italian authorities ordered the detention of the ship Humanity 2 for 15 days and imposed a fine of 4,000 euros today (September 9), SOS Humanity said in a statement.
A provisional detention order had been issued on August 30, after SOS Humanity’s new sailing ship rescued 71 people between August 28 and 29 during its first mission. The Italian authorities claim that the crew failed to immediately notify a rescue operation to the competent Maritime Rescue Coordination Center. SOS Humanity denies this and asserts that the captain had kept the authorities informed about its operations.
The August 30 provisional detention order prevented the ship from leaving the assigned Italian port of Lampedusa.
SOS Humanity is taking legal action against what it views as a deliberate and unfounded move to obstruct its search and rescue operations.
Read AlsoSOS Humanity: 71 people rescued in two operations by new rescue vessel
Continued detention for search and rescue vessels
This is the tenth detention of a vessel belonging to the Justice Fleet, an alliance of 13 civil search and rescue organizations which was formed in November 2025.
"Detaining our new ship during its first mission is part of a blunt strategy of punishing civil society’s efforts to put an end to European states' deliberate neglect of people seeking protection," Wasil Schauseil, spokesperson for the Justice Fleet, said in a statement.
"As search and rescue organizations bear witness and publicly denounce the deadly consequences of such policies, the Italian authorities are escalating their illegitimate strategy of obstruction. While our crews act in full accordance with international maritime law, the Italian authorities are routinely breaking it. We are taking legal action," Schauseil added.
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