WHO WE ARE

If you believe that no life should be left to chance, you’re one of us.

We are Lifeguards. We are Open Arms.

At sea, we protect people who are trying to reach Europe fleeing war, persecution or poverty. On land, We inform, educate and create real alternatives in places of origin along migratory routes so that people can make their decisions with complete freedom and knowledge.

We are in the central Mediterranean, watching over and saving those in need, and we are active in emergencies on land, to protect the lives of the most vulnerable. We are in the countries of origin, building alternatives to irregular migration through information and awareness-raising, and in host countries,denouncing all the injustices that are happening and that no one is telling.

Your contribution saves lives

Donations from many people have made it possible for us to increase resources and save more lives every day: both at sea and on land.

In addition, thanks to your support, we can carry out an educational task in which seeks to generate empathy and critical thinking in young people with the goal of creating a society that is critical of inequalities and strives for a more just and egalitarian world.

If you believe every life is worth saving, get involved. Together, we can save many more.

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October 2024

During the DANA emergency in Valencia, we activated all our resources to assist in the search for victims at sea, while also cooperating with the bailout efforts on land.

March – April 2024

We created a sustained humanitarian corridor to the Gaza Strip with tons of food in collaboration with World Central Kitchen.

Febrero 2023

Un devastador terremoto dejó más de 55.000 muertes en Siria y Turquía. Por eso, abrimos un corredor humanitario de emergencia para trasladar ayuda humanitaria y material sanitario.

July 2022

We transported 217 Afghan refugees via a humanitarian air corridor from Islamabad, Pakistan, to Rome Fiumicino Airport, Italy.

2022

We provided support to 50 displaced people from different countries in sub-Saharan Africa through a humanitarian air corridor that transported them from Niamey, Niger, to Italy.

June 2022

We are presenting the Open Arms Uno in Barcelona, our flagship, equipped with a hospital, four RIBs, and capacity for 31 crew members. It will save more lives with greater safety.

#EmergenciaUcrania

Mission by Sea

The tugboat Open Arms sailed the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, and the Danube to unload 180 tons of food in the Odessa region of Ukraine, in collaboration with Chef José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen.

#EmergenciaUcrania

Land Mission

We sent 29 trailers with more than 350 tons of essential goods to the Ukrainian civilian population affected by the conflict.

#EmergenciaUcrania

Humanitarian Flights

We are organizing humanitarian air corridors from Warsaw, Poland, to Spain, Italy, and Canada, in collaboration with the organization Solidaire. We have rescued 2,813 displaced people, mostly women with children and the elderly, and we are continuing with other humanitarian flights.

March – June 2022

We responded to the emergency in Ukraine by land, sea, and air.

November 2021

We welcomed the new vessel, Open Arms Uno. Designed to perform mass rescue tasks with a capacity of up to 1,000 people and with greater safety during difficult rescues.

October 2021

Theatrical release of “Mediterráneo,” the film about the early days of Open Arms, directed by Marcel Barrena and starring Eduard Fernández, Dani Rovira, and Anna Castillo, among others.

July 2021

We headed to Mozambique on a humanitarian flight loaded with more than 33 tons of food to address the humanitarian crisis in the north of the country, in collaboration with Solidaire.

May 2021

As part of our COVID-19 mission, we sent 22 tons of medical supplies to India on a humanitarian flight organized by Open Arms, Solidaire, and the Vicente Ferrer Foundation.

September 2020

In our COVID-19 mission, we are working to prevent the transmission of the virus among fruit harvesters in the Calatayud region (Zaragoza).

August 2020

After seven months of repairs, and after focusing our efforts on our elders during the COVID-19 health emergency, we can return to our mission at sea.

July 2020

We assist and support fruit-picking workers and vulnerable individuals who have tested positive for Covid-19.

April 2020

During the pandemic, we adapted to protect the most vulnerable on land. We mobilized teams of volunteers to perform 20,000 COVID-19 tests in nursing homes and assisted in the transportation of elderly people to prevent the spread of the virus.

March 2020

Due to the COVID-19 health emergency, our crews remain confined to port while onboard repairs continue. The Astral is confined to a port in Fuerteventura, and its mission to monitor the migratory flow in the Atlantic is interrupted.

February 2020

The latest of its breakdowns forces the Open Arms to head to the port of Burriana, in Castellón, to assess the extent of the repairs and perform annual maintenance.

January 2020

The Open Arms, with 47 years of experience, 59,000 miles sailed in two years of humanitarian mission, and more than 6,000 people rescued, cannot continue sailing due to the severity of its damage.

August 2019

Mission 65 begins: more than 100 rescued and 21 days blocked by Salvini. A court order allows the disembarkation, and he ends up facing kidnapping charges.

July 2019

The Open Arms leaves Greece to return to the Mediterranean Sea.

April 2019

The Open Arms ship leaves Spanish territorial waters, where it was being held, to deliver humanitarian aid to the Aegean Islands, Greece.

January 2019

Our ship Open Arms is detained in the port of Barcelona by the Spanish government.

December 2018 – January 2019

We opened a base in Senegal and launched the Origin Project in West Africa, offering information, training, and entrepreneurial support to empower communities of origin to build real alternatives.

September 2018

We’re celebrating our third anniversary with more than 59,400 people rescued thanks to more than 75,000 donations from people like you.

March 2018

We are threatened by the Libyan coast guard, and upon arriving in port, the Catania prosecutor’s office blocks the Open Arms for the first time. Another attempt to criminalize our humanitarian work.

July 2017

The Open Arms, our flagship, begins its humanitarian voyage in the central Mediterranean: a decommissioned tugboat received as a donation and refurbished over months.

December 2016

We traveled to the central Mediterranean aboard the Golfo Azzurro, a converted and medicalized fishing boat with which we saved 6,000 people during the first half of 2017.

June 2016

The Astral arrives, a loaned ship that helped us save 15,000 lives in the first four months of operation.

March 2016

The shameful agreement between the EU and Turkey is signed to end the Balkan route. Thousands of people are transferred from camps on the island of Lesbos, and refugee arrivals are minimal.

October 2015

Thanks to your donations, we obtained two rescue jet skis, just in time to face the largest shipwreck in the history of the Aegean, on October 28th.

September 2015

We arrived on the northern coast of Lesbos with a complete absence of humanitarian organizations. Rescuers were swimming, without equipment, and often forced to use the precarious boats in which the refugees arrived.

Would you like to know a little more about us?

Accreditations and Awards

Our work has been recognized internationally.

Virtual Tour

Get to know the interior of the Open Arms and the Astral.