Jérémie Lusseau / SOS MEDITERRANEE
A boat in distress was intercepted by the Libyan coast guard with the support and collaboration of an aircraft referred to by Libyan authorities as a “Maltese” aircraft
14th January 2026: On Wednesday night, Ocean Viking witnessed again what appears to be a further instance of European involvement in operations carried out by the Libyan Coast Guard and raising concerns about the respect of international maritime law and human rights.
Evidence suggests that an aircraft, referred to over radio communications by Libyan Coast Guard personnel as a “Maltese aircraft”, was present in the area and provided information to a Libyan patrol vessel during an interception in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region, 70 Nautical Miles from Libyan shores in International waters.
“We have witnessed one more time a low in the history of Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean. The open and active collaboration of what we suspect was a European State aircraft in a blatantly illegal interception and subsequent pushback. The Libyan Coast Guard vessel would have never found the boat in distress without the help of the Maltese aircraft. These actions are in total violation of international maritime and humanitarian law and it is shameful and illegal for a European asset to have participated in them”.
SOS MEDITERRANEE reiterates its call on EU Member States to end all forms of involvement – direct or indirect – in interceptions and returns of people to Libya, which is not considered a place of safety under international law. This includes refraining from actions that facilitate or enable interceptions by Libyan authorities that result in forced returns and exposure to serious human rights violations.
