Chronicle of our fleet
2015-2016
The M/S Sea-Watch (1) was purchased by Harald Höppner, the founder of Sea-Watch e.V., for 60,000 euros. The former fishing cutter was nearly 100 years old at the time. The idea was to increase the intervention of European authorities through monitoring — in other words, to pressure them into rescuing people at sea.
2016-2017
But we quickly realized that instead of just monitoring, we had to carry out rescues ourselves. The European authorities were standing idly by. So we replaced the M/S Sea-Watch 1 with the Sea-Watch 2, which was later donated to Mission Lifeline.
2017-2022
Monitoring, therefore, had to be carried out from the air, while the civil fleet conducted rescues at sea. Together with the Swiss Initiative HPI, we operated our first aircraft, Moonbird, over the Mediterranean. In this way, we were able to make a significant contribution to exposing human rights violations.
2017-2022
As political harassment of civil sea rescue operations increased — with the crew of the Iuventa on trial and Libyan militias being trained by the EU’s Sophia mission — the Sea-Watch 3 was our response: more safety, more space, better supplies.
since 2020
Documenting human rights violations from the air became one of our most important tasks. That’s why another aircraft — Seabird 1 — joined our civil fleet, operated by the Humanitarian Pilot Initiative alongside Moonbird.
2020-2022
Together with United4Rescue, we purchased the Sea-Watch 4. With her, we rescued thousands of people from distress at sea, until we donated her to SOS Humanity, where — under the name Humanity 1 — she continues to serve as part of the civil fleet.
since 2022
When Moonbird was sent into well-deserved retirement, it became clear that the time had come for Seabird 2. Like Seabird 1, she is the same model of aircraft—offering enhanced safety features for the crew, increased space, and, as a result, more eyes available for spotting.
since 2022
At the same time, we purchased the smallest ship in the civil fleet to date: Aurora SAR. She is stationed in Lampedusa. The idea is to act as a floating ambulance, quickly reaching and stabilising people in distress. However, the negligence of political authorities regularly forces us to carry out rescues ourselves.
since 2022
In November 2022, we purchased a former oil platform supply ship and named her Sea-Watch 5. The large deck at the rear of the ship offers space for up to 500 guests. We invested a great deal of time and thought into the conversion — always with the goal of helping people at sea as efficiently and quickly as possible.
since 2025
Our most recent acquisition, Seabird 3, directly responds to the Italian government's illegal laws against our work. It serves as a backup in case of unlawful confiscations and has most extended flight duration in our fleet. In addition, HPI and United4Rescue also operate Seabird 3 on the Atlantic route near the Canary Islands.