Libyan Coast Guard Fires on Ocean Viking NGO Vessel After Rescue Operation
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The humanitarian ship Ocean Viking, operated by SOS Mediterranée, came under heavy fire from the Libyan Coast Guard in what the NGO has denounced as a “violent and deliberate attack.” According to the organization, hundreds of shells were fired in international waters, damaging the vessel’s windows. Photographs released by activists show shell casings and shattered glass on board.
The incident occurred only hours after the Ocean Viking had rescued a dinghy in distress off the Libyan coast, bringing 87 survivors to safety, including nine unaccompanied minors. “The survivors and our crew are safe. We are now working to reconstruct the events,” SOS Mediterranée confirmed. The Italian Interior Ministry has assigned Marina di Carrara, more than 1,300 kilometers away, as the port of disembarkation.
Before the attack, the NGO had already criticized the government’s decision to designate such a distant port, warning that the three-and-a-half-day journey would prevent the Ocean Viking from operating in the central Mediterranean during that time.
Solidarity quickly came from fellow NGO Sea-Watch, which urged Rome to reconsider its cooperation with Libyan authorities. “What else must happen for Italy to stop funding these dangerous criminal militias?” the group asked.
The day had already been marked by controversy after another humanitarian organization, Mediterranea Saving Humans, openly defied ministry orders. Its vessel Mare Jonio disembarked ten rescued migrants in Trapani rather than sailing to Genoa, as instructed. “Human dignity and life come before all other considerations,” said Mediterranea president Laura Marmorale, defending the decision.
The ten migrants—Kurds from Iraq and Iran, Syrians, Egyptians, and three teenagers—arrived in Sicily after harrowing experiences of torture, violence, and death in Libya. Activists argued it was “unacceptable” to subject traumatized survivors to an additional three days at sea in rough conditions. “We said no to this inhumane logic,” Mediterranea declared.
Their stance has drawn political backing. The Italian Radicals offered legal assistance, calling the act “both civil disobedience and full legality.” Secretary Filippo Blengino stressed that the crew upheld maritime law and constitutional principles “in the face of bureaucratic cruelty.” Nicola Fratoianni of the AVS echoed this sentiment, remarking: “Disobeying obtuse and needlessly cruel rules is a virtue.”
Elsewhere in the Mediterranean, the NGO vessel Nadir rescued 60 people—including a pregnant woman and a child with severe burns—and recovered the bodies of three Sudanese sisters, aged 17, 12, and 9, before heading toward Lampedusa.
Save the Children condemned the mounting tragedies and renewed its call for a coordinated European search-and-rescue mechanism. “We wonder how many more deaths of migrant children and families must occur before a system is put in place to prevent such tragedies. A system that not only fights human trafficking but also ensures ships can continue saving lives at sea,” the organization said.
