SeaWatch reported that Maltese and Italian authorities ignored repeated calls by the organization to initiate a rescue mission for 41 people who had been shipwrecked for several days and had been taken on board an Egyptian supply ship. The incident occurred within the Maltese search and rescue zone, yet European authorities refused to take reasonability. Finally, Sea-Watch rescue vessel ‘Aurora’ evacuated the group on 2 September 2025 after they had spent 6 days at sea with limited food and medical supplies.
On July 29 2025, Maltese Interior Minister Byron Camilleri stated that “as long as we do not properly address the issue of human trafficking, many people will continue to die.” His speech deliberately failed to acknowledge his own government’s failed security policies, which have contributed to turning the Mediterranean into a veritable graveyard.