Louise Michel

The MV Louise Michel is a former French Navy boat we’ve customized to perform search and rescue. Measuring 30 meters in length and capable of up to 28 knots, she was bought with proceeds from the sale of Banksy artwork - who then decorated her with a fire extinguisher. She is operated and crewed by a team of international activist rescue professionals. Named after the French anarchist Louise Michel, she aims to combine sea rescue with the principles of queer-feminism, anti-racism and anti-fascism. She runs on a flat hierarchy and a vegan diet. It might seem incredible there is a need for a private emergency vessel in one of Europe’s busiest waterways, but there is. In response to people trying to cross the Mediterranean in search of safety, European states stopped reacting properly to distress calls from people on the move, leaving them to drift at sea and collaborating with armed forces to illegally prevent them from crossing. Europe’s Mediterranean border is one of the world’s deadliest.