Read Authentic Ratings for the Life-Support

On the morning of April 12, the NGO-operated vessel 'Life Support' arrived in La Spezia, carrying 71 migrants who had been rescued four days earlier from a dangerous, overcrowded inflatable boat within the designated Libyan Search and Rescue (SAR) zone. Having traveled a challenging 640 nautical miles, the Italian authorities had declared La Spezia a 'safe port,' but this decision added three extra days of arduous sailing for the distressed survivors, among whom were 17 unaccompanied minors. Humanitarian organizations have criticized the government for its practice of assigning distant ports, arguing that it serves to deter private rescue efforts in the perilous central Mediterranean region.

On June 29 at 1 p.m., the NGO vessel 'Life Support' made its way into the port of Augusta, bringing with it a somber finding: the decomposed bodies of two migrants recovered from the international waters within the Libyan Search and Rescue (SAR) zone on June 27. Captain Augusto Candido conveyed the profound impact of this mission, stating it marked the first instance in which their crew had to retrieve bodies, rather than engage in life-saving rescues, a challenging experience that weighed heavily on all involved. The grim discovery was initiated on June 26 when the migrant-rescue ship 'Sea-Watch' raised the alarm after its reconnaissance aircraft, Seabird, captured footage of one body and observed five more adrift off the Libyan coast. Speculation arose that a migrant vessel had sunk, either unbeknownst to authorities or reported but not responded to for an extended duration. It is also suggested that Libyan coast guards or local entities may have intercepted boats, leading to situations where individuals were thrown overboard to avoid returning to Libya. Due to the significant decomposition, officials struggled to ascertain the gender of the deceased migrants, indicating that they may have been at sea for approximately a week before being located. This incident underscores the ongoing humanitarian crisis faced by migrants in the Mediterranean, highlighting the urgent need for comprehensive response measures.

The humanitarian ship 'Life Support' successfully rescued a total of 215 migrants in a series of three operations in the treacherous waters of the central Mediterranean. The NGO Emergency announced on April 5, 2025, that these rescues occurred within Libyan waters. Tragically, 14 individuals remain unaccounted for. The first rescue mission began at dawn when the emergency response center Alarm Phone alerted authorities about a distressed rubber dinghy carrying 93 migrants, which was losing air. Survivors recounted that they departed from the Libyan coast on April 4, and unfortunately, some migrants fell overboard prior to the arrival of rescue teams. Responding to the ongoing emergency, rescuers spotted another vessel in peril during the operation. All 78 individuals aboard this second boat were successfully rescued and later transferred to 'Life Support.' In the third mission, facilitated by Alarm Phone, rescuers received reports of an additional rubber dinghy with 44 passengers. Altogether, the 215 rescued individuals included 53 women, 83 unaccompanied minors, and nine children accompanied by adults, hailing from a variety of nations such as Eritrea, Somalia, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, and Benin. In response to this urgent humanitarian situation, Italian authorities have designated Ancona, located in the northern Adriatic Sea, as the landing port for these rescued migrants.

On November 17, the NGO vessel 'Life Support' docked in the port of Ancona, Italy, carrying 49 rescued migrants, which included six women and six unaccompanied minors hailing from Syria, Egypt, and Bangladesh. The rescue operation occurred on November 12 within the Maltese Search and Rescue (SAR) zone in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The migrants had embarked from Al-Zawiya, Libya, on a small and overcrowded fiberglass boat that was poorly equipped for the perilous Mediterranean journey and lacked essential safety equipment. This event marked the first time the authorities designated Ancona as the landing port for the 'Life Support,' although it was the fifth mission of this ship to venture into the northern Atlantic, indicating a lengthy journey away from the SAR area and a corresponding gap in its operational capacity.