Seabird 1, 2 & 3

The civil eye at the world’s deadliest border

As a civil eye, Sea-Watch’s Airborne department, together with the Swiss Humanitarian Pilots Initiative, monitors, documents, and publishes these daily human rights violations as well as the associated roles of European states, the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, the so-called Libyan coast guard, and other Libyan militias. If we encounter boats in distress during our flights, we try everything to push for a rescue and subsequent disembarkation in a safe European port by the competent authorities and civil vessels in the vicinity.

Our aircraft

Seabird 1

Since spring 2020, we have been operating the Seabird 1 aerial reconnaissance aircraft, a Beechcraft Baron 58 twin-engine high-performance aircraft. The sea area that we can search during a mission with the Seabird is almost twice as large as that of its predecessor Moonbird: around 27,000 km² – roughly the size of Brandenburg. In addition, we can be in the mission area for around 7.5 hours. As the Seabirds 1 & 2 are twin-engine aircraft, we can also guarantee significantly more safety for our crew on board.

Seabird 2

In spring 2022, our Moonbird aerial reconnaissance aircraft went into well-deserved retirement. We have therefore decided to send another aircraft – the Seabird 2 – into service. It is also a Beechcraft Baron 58 and can accommodate up to five crew members. The maths is simple: the more people who can fit on board and keep an eye out for distress at sea during flight time, the greater the likelihood of spotting boats in distress.

Seabird 3

The twin-engine Seabird 3 is smaller than Sea-Watch’s current aircraft. It is an exceptionally light, efficient propeller aircraft with a long flight duration. It can fly particularly slowly at just under 175 km/h, which is helpful for search flights. In a separate, unrelated deployment, the Humanitarian Pilots Initiative and United4Rescue will operate Seabird 3 on the Atlantic route close to the Canary Islands.

The civil eye over the Mediterranean

In 2023, our aircraft crew spotted 311 boats in distress and were in the air 161 times. We witnessed massive human rights violations committed by Frontex, the EU states, and the EU-funded so-called Libyan coastguard.

Want to find out more about our mission in the Mediterranean last year? Here you can find our Airborne annual report