RESQSHIP

RESQSHIP is a German charity based in Hamburg, with further branches in Freiburg, Mainz and Augsburg, founded in 2017.

The Non-Governmental Organisation has been operating the 14 m sailing yacht Josefa (sailing ship) primarily to observe and monitor the situation off the Libyan coast. However, on occasion the Josefa has been in such a position as to need to carry out rescues herself. Typically, as she is a relatively small yacht, in such cases onward transfer to a larger vessel is arranged as soon as possible after the initial rescue. Josefa is named for a woman rescued from the sea by the NGO Proactiva Open Arms.

According to RESQSHIP, during 2019, the Josefa carried out nine rescue missions.

In May 2021 Josefa was replaced with a newer and larger (18 m) ketch, the Nadir (sailing ship) Although some sources mention a schooner, it is clearly contradicted by pictures of Nadir showing her to have ketch rig. Resqship resumed operations in June 2021 with the Nadir. In August 2021, the Nadir took part with other vessels in the rescue of some 800 refugees from unseaworthy craft. In April 2023, the Nadir rescued 47 persons from an overcrowded steel boat at risk of sinking, after standing by to assist 54 others on a wooden vessel the previous night. In June 2024, Resqship's Nadir saved 52 people on one vessel near Lampedusa.