Italy detains Sea Watch 5 for 45 days and fines NGO 7,500 euros in Naples

Administrative detention and fine in Naples

Italian authorities ordered a 45-day administrative detention and a 7,500-euro fine for the German-flagged rescue vessel Sea Watch 5 following its arrival at the port of Naples. The ship docked in the southern Italian port to disembark six rescued minors after operations in the central Mediterranean. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi announced the sanctions on social media, asserting that search and rescue activities must adhere to state-led coordination rules.

Forty-five days of detention and a 7,500-euro fine for the Sea Watch 5. The ship, flying the German flag, once again failed to comply with the legal obligations required during operations at sea. A grave violation of the regulations: search and rescue activities at sea must be managed and coordinated by competent states, not by NGOs.

Sea Watch response and Libyan coordination

The German non-governmental organization acknowledged the penalties and defended its decision to bypass Libyan maritime authorities during the operation. According to Sea Watch, the vessel rescued six individuals in international waters on Thursday, 13 August 2026. Crew members alerted maritime authorities in Italy and neighboring European countries but deliberately avoided the Libyan Joint Rescue Coordination Center, describing it as an illegitimate entity linked to armed traffickers.

We do not collaborate with criminals and traffickers. Can the Italian government say the same?

The organization stated that armed personnel pointed a rifle at the rescue crew shortly after the operation, ordering them to leave the area. Sea Watch criticized Italian agreements with Libyan authorities, stating that Italy has provided one billion euros in patrol vessels, funding, and training. The organization also reported that civil society observers witnessed 14 deceased individuals drifting at sea after a separate shipwreck during the previous weekend.

Previous Frontex investigation

The penalty in Naples follows an earlier inquiry involving the Sea Watch 5 during a previous mission in the central Mediterranean. Dutch captain Anne Van Damme was placed under investigation by Italian prosecutors for alleged facilitation of unauthorized immigration. That investigation stemmed from aerial surveillance by Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, which documented migrants transferring from a boat run by armed traffickers directly to the NGO vessel.

Sea Watch did not dispute the Frontex footage of the maritime transfer, stating that the crew acted to ensure the immediate safety of the people on board. Captain Van Damme announced plans to step back from active rescue missions while the legal investigation proceeds.

Diplomatic tensions between Rome and Berlin

The detention of the vessel coincides with disputes between Rome and Berlin over migration policy and asylum transfers. German authorities had previously indicated plans to return asylum seekers under the Dublin Regulation, leading Italian officials to propose offsetting those transfers against arrivals brought to Italian ports by German-registered rescue ships. Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini criticized German authorities regarding NGO funding and maritime oversight.

Germany has no right to send us back a single irregular immigrant until there are German NGO ships roaming the Mediterranean discharging thousands of illegals in Italy and Europe. First solve the problems of the ships to which you gave the flag, and then we talk about everything else.

The Italian government continues to challenge non-governmental search operations, requiring private vessels to follow instructions from designated national rescue centers.