The German corvette Ludwigshafen rescues 121 migrants in her first day in operation Sophia
121 migrants have been rescued at sea by the German corvette Ludwigshafen during her first day in EUNAVFOR MED operation SOPHIA
Yesterday morning, during an operational flight mission, the Luxemburg Seagull Merlin III 
aircraft spotted two rubber boats in distress in International Waters north of Libyan coast. The information was immediately forwarded to the EUNAVFOR MED Force Headquarters staff embarked on board the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour that, having received the request from the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, tasked the German corvette to intervene.
In a while, all migrants were at safe on board the Ludwigshafen and were subsequently transferred on board a ship operating in the area under the Italian operation “Mare Sicuro” mandate.
In 6 months, upon receiving the request from the competent Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), in accordance with the International Law of the Sea and fully respecting Refugee Conventions, EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia assets have saved almost 9000 lives.