''Open Arms'' is a Mediterranean rescue vessel operated by the

Proactiva Open Arms Proactiva Open Arms (POA) is a Spanish NGO devoted to search and rescue (SAR) at sea. Set up in October 2015, it carried out its first rescue action that same month from its base on the Greek island of Lesbos. As well as maintaining a permanent b ...

NGO. It is 36.9 meters long and 9.5 meters wide. Before 2018, it was named ''Ibaizabal Tres''. In November 2018, a joint campaign was launched by Proactive Open Arms,

SOS Méditerranée ''SOS Méditerranée'' is a European, maritime-humanitarian organization for the rescue of life at sea, currently operating in the Mediterranean sea in international waters north of Libya. The organization chartered the ''Aquarius'' and more rece ...

and Sea-Watch, which used ''Open Arms'', ''Mare Jonio'' and '' Sea-Watch 3'', along with the Moonbird aircraft, to continue with the rescue of refugees in the Mediterranean. This followed after a few weeks during which the states had prevented them from acting in various ways. In August 2019, while the boat was off

Lampedusa Lampedusa ( , , ; scn, Lampidusa ; grc, Λοπαδοῦσσα and Λοπαδοῦσα and Λοπαδυῦσσα, Lopadoûssa; mt, Lampeduża) is the largest island of the Italian Pelagie Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. The ''comune'' of L ...

and prevented from entering port for a period that eventually extended to 19 days, the actor

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

arranged delivery of supplies and went aboard to distribute them to the refugees. During the course of 2019, the vessel rescued a total of 324 people from the sea. In November 2020, ''Open Arns'' rescued 250 people in one week.Open Arms refugee rescue ship saves 250 people in the last week
12 November 2020 ''www.catalannews.com'', accessed 28 March 2023

References

Ships European migrant crisis {{ship-stub