| March 2 | Humanity 1 rescues 77 people from three boats spotted by Seabird. During the rescue, the Libyan CG violently intervened, firing live ammunition into the water near people, some of whom jumped into the water, and threatening the crew of the Humanity 1. One person tragically drowned, while several others were forcefully taken into the Libyan CG patrol boat and pulled back(1). |
| March 3 | Sea-Watch 5 rescues 70 people in two separate operations. 4-meter waves prevent SW5 from going to POS Reggio Calabria, which seeks shelter in LMP instead. |
| March 4 | After disembarking the 77 survivors, Humanity 1 is detained by Italian authorities. |
| March 7 | Geo Barents rescues 261 people from two very overcrowded wooden boats. Sea-Eye 4 rescues 84 people who had first contacted AlarmPhone. During the rescue, crew reported once again that the Libyan CG had aggressively intervened, endangering the rescue operation. |
| March 8 | AlarmPhone is contacted by around 50 people in distress in the Maltese SAR. Sea-Eye 4 responds to help stabilize, while the rescue is finished by Italian CG. A few hours later, AlarmPhone alerts another case, which Sea-Eye 4 is able to locate, bringing an additional 61 people on board and continuing to Ancona. |
| March 9 | Sea-Watch 5 is detained for 20 days. Italian authorities cite refusal to cooperate with Libyan authorities during the March 3 rescue as the reason for the detention. Meanwhile, Italian, Maltese and Tunisian authorities had refused to comply with the medical evacuation of a 17-year-old boy, leading to his death (2). After responding to a Frontex mayday relay, Life Support finds around 40 people stranded on a Tunisian gas platform in Maltese SAR. MISKAR, operator of the platform, denied Life Support the ability to conduct the rescue, requiring that the survivors be transferred to the Tunisian CG. Life Support refused and despite attempts to coordinate with MISKAR, the Maltese and the Italian authorities, was unable to complete the rescue operation. The fate of the survivors is unknown. |
| March 11 | After an AlarmPhone alert, Life Support rescues 52 people from a wooden boat in the Libyan SAR zone. Sea-Eye 4 is detained by Italian authorities for 60 days under the Piantedosi Decree. This marks the third vessel under detention in a little more than a week (3). |
| March 13 | Ocean Viking rescues the 25 remaining survivors of a group lost at sea for a week. The boat departed Libya with around 75 onboard and initially contacted AlarmPhone, which then lost contact with the group. 5 days after the initial alert, OV spots the rubber boat via binoculars (4). Trotamar III finds and stabilizes a group of 100 people with life jackets, who are then taken aboard the Ocean Viking. |
| March 14 | AlarmPhone receives a call from a group of 56 people in distress in the Maltese SAR zone. Trotamar III responds and helps to stabilize the situation before the rescue is completed by Italian authorities. Ocean Viking rescues 135 people in Maltese SAR from an overcrowded, double-decker boat. Ancona is assigned as POS. |
| March 16 | Geo Barents rescues 171 people from 2 separate boats. During one rescue, while Seabird is monitoring, the Libyan CG attempted to intervene by performing dangerous maneuvers near one of GB’s RHIBs. Thankfully the rescue operation could be carried out successfully and all survivors brought safely aboard (5). Geo Barents rescues 75 people in a difficult operation during which 45 people fell overboard as GB arrived. The group had initially reached out to AlarmPhone. Life Support responds to an AlarmPhone alert and rescues 71 people from an overcrowded wooden boat. Distant port of Ravenna is assigned as POS. |
| March 18 | Detention lifted from Humanity 1 by civil court in Crotone, citing “apparent injustice of the measure issued.” |
| March 20 | Geo Barents is placed in 20-day administrative detention for failing to comply with the Libyan CG during a rescue on March 16. |
| March 22 | Mare*Go assists a group of 110 people that had initially contacted AlarmPhone. |
| March 23 | Mare Jonio performs two rescue operations with the help of AlarmPhone and Seabird. The first is of 55 people from an overcrowded wooden boat followed by another 59 from an iron boat. |
| March 28 | Trotamar III responds to a distress case and rescues 31 people from the water near a capsized metal boat. The Italian retrieve an additional 11 people, but tragically 3 remain missing (6). Sea-Watch 5‘s detention is suspended by Italian court in Ragusa. |
