Camille Martin Juan / SOS MEDITERRANEE
One year after the rescue vessel Ocean Viking came under fire from the Libyan Coast Guard (LCG) while carrying 87 survivors rescued at sea, no one has been held accountable for the attack. Instead, international humanitarian maritime organisation SOS MEDITERRANEE is warning of a growing and increasingly dangerous presence of Libyan actors in the Central Mediterranean, involving intimidation, violent interceptions of people in distress, and a rising number of “shadowing” incidents targeting rescue vessels operating in international waters.
The attack on 24 August 2025 had left the Ocean Viking severely damaged and survivors and crew members deeply traumatised. Yet twelve months later, despite ongoing legal proceedings in Italy, France and Germany, European and national authorities have remained silent and failed to take meaningful political action to establish responsibility or prevent similar incidents from recurring.
“The attack should have marked a turning point,” said Soazic Dupuy, Director of Operations at SOS MEDITERRANEE. “Instead, the past year has seen an escalation of threats against people in distress at sea, alongside increased European cooperation with Libyan actors. The message being sent is a dangerous one: violence at sea can continue without accountability.”
In the past year, through its aerial monitoring mission, Albatross, SOS MEDITERRANEE has documented a significant increase in the presence of unidentified speedboats linked to various armed groups in Libya. These vessels have been observed conducting violent interceptions, including intentionally ramming boats carrying people in distress and carrying out life-threatening manoeuvres.
Credits: Ania Gruca / SOS MEDITERRANEE
A new and worrying phenomenon has also emerged. On at least seven occasions between June and July 2026, vessels linked to Libyan actors, some of them unidentified, repeatedly approached rescue vessels at high speed or followed them for prolonged periods in behaviour described as “shadowing”.
This increasingly hostile operating environment in the Central Mediterranean could not have been sustained without the expansion of European cooperation with Libyan actors on migration deterrence and containment. Earlier this year, investigations by SOS MEDITERRANEE and IRPI Media found that at least €61.2 million in European funds were channelled into cooperation projects with Libyan authorities between 2017 and 2025, while nearly half of the programme budget could not be fully traced.
One year after the shooting, SOS MEDITERRANEE reiterates its calls for a full and independent investigation into the attack, as well as meaningful accountability for those responsible. Until then, all European support for the Libyan Coast Guard must be suspended immediately.
“While accountability remains absent, SOS MEDITERRANEE continues its mission to save lives, document violations, and ensure that the Central Mediterranean does not become a space devoid of international law, transparency and basic humanity,” Dupuy added.
