MSF ends operation of Geo Barents search and rescue vessel with commitment to return to Central Mediterranean Sea

December 13, 2024

Rome, 13 December 2024 – The international medical and humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced today that it has ceased operations on board its rescue vessel, Geo Barents, which had been operational since June 2021. Italian laws and policies...

Detention on MSF rescue ship is suspended by Italian court

September 16, 2024

Rome, Italy – On 11 September, the Italian Civil Court of Salerno ordered the suspension of the 60-day administrative detention of the Geo Barents, the search and rescue ship operated by Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The Italian authorities had...

The newborn Ali and his family are safe, but the future of the other 249 survivors remains uncertain

December 12, 2022

Central Mediterranean, 9 December 2022 – At 11:31 on Wednesday 7th December, little *Ali entered the world on board the Geo Barents, a search and rescue vessel chartered by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). His mother, Fatima*, gave birth in the...

SOS Mediterranee, MSF and Sea-Watch alert on the critical risk of more deaths in the central Mediterranean this summer in the absence of European state led search and rescue operations

August 3, 2022

In this summer season, SOS Mediterranee, MSF and Sea-Watch urgently call for the provision of European state-led search and rescue maritime assets in the central Mediterranean to prevent more deaths. Within five days, Geo Barents, a search and rescue ship...

Left to drown in the Southern European Border: One year of Geo Barents at sea

July 5, 2022

One year of operations in the Central Mediterranean have passed by, this time with the Geo Barents - Médecins Sans Frontières’ (MSF) vessel - rescuing 3,138 people and conducting 6,536 medical consultations before disembarking in a place of safety in...

Mediterranean migration: Stories of survival at sea

October 2, 2021

MSF rescued 60 people, including six minors and 24 women, during two operations on board the Geo Barents ship on Monday 20 September. Once safely on board, some of the survivors decided to share the stories of their horrific journeys across the...

MSF requests the revocation of the Geo Barents’ detention

July 24, 2021

On 23 July MSF officially requested the release of its ship the Geo Barents from three weeks of detention after having responded to all requests made by the Italian Maritime Authority, which on 2 July identified 22 deficiencies leading to...