Search-and-rescue vessels have been severly restricted in carrying out their maritime missions by recent Italian legislation [Getty]
More than 6,490 people have drowned or gone missing in the Central Mediterranean since Italy introduced restrictions on NGO rescue vessels in early 2023, according to humanitarian groups that argue the measures have reduced life-saving capacity on Europe’s deadliest migration route.
The legislation, known as the Piantedosi Decree, has drawn sustained criticism from search-and-rescue (SAR) organisations, which say it has systematically obstructed rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean.
Introduced on 2 January 2023 by Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, the law was introduced in parallel to strict limits on NGO rescue vessels operating in the region. Chief among them is a “single-rescue” rule requiring ships to head immediately to a designated port after rescuing people, even when other boats in distress are nearby.
Rights groups argue that the policy effectively removes rescue vessels from critical areas for extended periods, particularly as Italian authorities frequently assign ports in northern and central Italy rather than closer locations such as Sicily or Lampedusa.
Humanitarian organisations say this can add hundreds, and in some cases thousands, of kilometres to journeys, leaving large stretches of sea without rescue coverage.
“The systematic assignment of distant ports has massive repercussions on our organisations capacity to render assistance,” Wasil Schauseil, spokesperson for the Justice Fleet, an alliance of 13 SAR organisations, told The New Arab. “Since 2022, our ship Humanity 1 has had to spend 140 days with unnecessarily long navitation to distant ports, amount to a total of 55.966 kilometres.”
“The ships of the civil fleet are the only actors providing assistance in the area off the coast of Libya and Tunisia, where most shipwrecks happen,” said Schauseil. “Obstructing their work results in more people dying, plain and simple.”
The human toll has intensified in recent months. The first quarter of 2026 was the deadliest since the International Organization for Migration began tracking fatalities in 2014, with more than 825 people recorded dead or missing in just three months.
“It should be appeal to common sense to note that by preventing rescue vessels to be present in the area where most shipwrecks occur, their active obstruction by the Italian government leads to more deaths at sea”, Schauseil noted. “Think of any other emergency context – from fire fighters to ambulances – and what it would mean obstructing their capacity to react to life-or-death emergencies.”
Alongside operational restrictions, the decree allows Italian authorities to detain rescue vessels and impose fines of up to €50,000 (£43,000) for non-compliance.
According to Justice Fleet, 41 humanitarian ships have been detained under the law, resulting in a combined total of 1,075 days spent blocked in port.
NGOs say the measures not only delay urgent rescue efforts but also force cooperation with actors such as the Libyan Coast Guard, whose conduct has long been criticised by human rights organisations.
Migrants intercepted by Libyan forces are often returned to detention centres where they face documented abuse, raising concerns over potential violations of international humanitarian and maritime law.
“It is a scandal that instead of taking action to save people in distress at sea according to their duty under international law, European states choose to keep silent,” Schauseil said, accusing Italy of “escalating the reckless obstruction” of civilian rescue missions.
All of these laws, Schauseil argues, point to how “the Italian government is deliberately contributing to the abandonment of people, who need help.”
The controversy comes as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government moves to introduce further restrictions, including proposals that would allow authorities to block NGO vessels from entering Italian waters if deemed a “threat to public order or national security”. Humanitarian groups warn that similar emergency provisions have already been used to sideline rescue operations.
