Maritime search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean halved for the Swedish Coast Guard
On assignment for Frontex, the Swedish Coast Guard has been present in Lampedusa during the winter months, in cooperation with the Maritime Police (Sjöpolisen) in Region Väst. The Swedish crews took part in 27 maritime search and rescue operations and rescued a total of 933 people during the season. In the corresponding season last year, there were 58 operations and 1,607 people rescued.
Published: 5 May 2026 at 4:22 PM
– The Swedish Coast Guard has had assignments for Frontex in Lampedusa since 2021, and this year's operation has been the windiest. Migrants kept arriving when the weather was calmer and the opportunity arose, but we can see that the flows of migrants have decreased compared with previous years, says Peter Widlund, who is responsible for the assignment at the Coast Guard.
The bad weather in the first quarter of the year was generally the main factor behind the sharp decrease in irregular border crossings, says Frontex. The central Mediterranean area, where the Swedish Coast Guard has been stationed, had about 6,200 irregular crossings in the first quarter of this year. This is a decrease of 33% compared with the same period last year.
Even though the number of irregular arrivals continues to fall, almost a thousand people have lost their lives in the Mediterranean so far this year, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
