Rome – The orchestrated removal of search and rescue ships, such as the Geo Barents, from the Central Mediterranean cuts a lifeline for survivors fleeing horrendous violence in Libya. This is the conclusion of an advocacy report released today by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The report, Deadly Manoeuvres: Obstruction and Violence in the Central Mediterranean, is based on operational and medical data as well as survivors' testimonies collected by MSF teams on board the search and rescue vessel Geo Barents during 2023 and 2024.
The report details how, after more than two years of operating under restrictive Italian laws and policies, particularly the Piantedosi Decree and the practice of distant port assignments, the ability of search and rescue vessels to provide lifesaving assistance was severely limited, ultimately leading to the decision to cease operations on the Geo Barents in December 2024.
Due to the restrictions, the number of people that the Geo Barents was able to rescue declined dramatically in 2024 (2,278) to half the 2023 total (4,646). Despite this, the overall number of medical referrals increased – particularly urgent referrals – which went up by 14 per cent, suggesting that a considerably higher percentage of those rescued were in a critical state and required vital specialist care on land.
“The Piantedosi Decree presents an unprecedented structured and institutionalised mechanism for the obstruction of civil search and rescue activities,” says Juan Matias Gil, MSF search and rescue representative. “The impact of these sanctions has worsened over the years; the rescue capacity of our search and rescue vessel has been significantly underutilised and actively undermined.”
The report also narrates testimonies from people who managed to flee Libya, documenting violent interceptions they experienced at sea, and being forcefully returned to Libya, as part of the broader externalisation effort to prevent arrivals to Europe.
“The testimonies, data and evidence we have collected during these years demonstrate collusion of Italy and the EU with the Libyan Coast Guard and other armed actors, carrying out interceptions and pushing people back to the circle of extortion and abuse,” says Gil.
According to MSF medical data, in 2024, every patient (124) seen by the psychologist on the Geo Barents reported experiencing physical and/or psychological violence during their journey, with half of these patients having identified detention as the primary setting where abuse took place.
The report concludes by demanding that Italian authorities cease hindering lifesaving operations at sea and imposing sanctions on NGO search and rescue vessels. We call on the EU and its member states to immediately halt financial and material support to the Libyan Coast Guard and stop deliberately facilitating the forced return of people to Libya.
MSF has been active and engaged in search and rescue activities in the Central Mediterranean since 2015, working on eight different search and rescue vessels (alone or in partnership with other NGOs) and rescuing more than 94,000 people. MSF operated its latest rescue vessel, the Geo Barents, from June 2021 to December 2024, rescuing 12,675 people and bringing them to safety in 190 rescue operations. During this period, the team also recovered the bodies of 24 people (including after unsuccessful resuscitations and people who died on board), arranged medical evacuation for 14 people and assisted in the delivery of one baby.
In January 2023, the Piantedosi Decree (Decree Law 1/2023) introduced a new set of rules in Italy, applicable exclusively to civilian rescue vessels, and a set of sanctions for non-compliance, ranging increasingly from 20 days of detention in port to the confiscation of the vessel.
Since the implementation of the punitive Piantedosi Decree, the Geo Barents has been sanctioned four times, amounting to 160 days of imposed detention. Between December 2022 and December 2024, the obstructive measures also required the Geo Barents to cover 64,966 additional kilometres and spend an extra 163 days at sea to reach distant ports in the north of Italy for the disembarkation of survivors after rescue, rather than in nearby ports in Sicily.