JLProject uncovers a new secret pushback: the Normand Sapphire case (Solstad Offshore).

In March 2026, the Solstad Offshore ship Normand Sapphire participated in a secret pushback from the sea to the Libyan concentration camps.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR ALL THE VICTIMS.

In March 2026, the Solstad Offshore ship Normand Sapphire rescued a group of people, including minors, fleeing Libya by boat in the Central Mediterranean. For this, we are grateful. The problem is what happened next.

Those who were rescued have testified to us at JLProject that the crew of the Normand Sapphire deceived them: the crew told them they would take them to Italy, but instead handed them over to a Libyan militia. The Libyan militia forcibly returned them to Libya, and transferred them straight to
a detention centre, where they suffered unspeakable abuse.

Some of the survivors contacted JLProject, providing a substantial amount of evidence, including numerous photos and videos depicting members of the Solstad crew. The evidence even includes the uniforms the Solstad crew provided to the shipwrecked people. The Solstad Offshore logo is clearly visible on the uniforms.

This refoulement was unlawful.

Under the law of the sea, the captain of a ship is required, where it is reasonable and safe to do so, to render assistance and rescue people in distress at sea, and to deliver them to a
place of safety.
As recognised by the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHR), the UN Refugee Agency, the UN Special Mission in Libya, and numerous other international institutions,
Libya is not a safe place of disembarkation for migrants. The OHCHR has described “widespread and systematic human rights violations and abuses against migrants in Libya”, and calls for an immediate end to the interception of boats and forced returns of those on board to Libya.

By boarding the Normand Sapphire, which was in international waters and flies the Norwegian flag, the shipwrecked people effectively entered Norwegian territory.

What does Norwegian law say about collective pushbacks?
Norway is a member state of the Council of Europe that has ratified the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which prohibits collective refoulements.
Norwegian law also prohibits the refoulement of minors.

We are already assisting the victims we have traced so far.

Our staff are already working to help rejected people

We are looking for ALL people deported from this ship

Thanks to the extensive photographic material in our possession, we can prove who was on board and provide legal and free assistance to those rejected through our projects.

People involved in this case can contact us using this form.

Who ordered this pushback?

Activists have asked Solstad Offshore for an explanation, but so far no response has been forthcoming. The only communication received has been an email from the bridge of the Normand Sapphire, declining the offer of the pushback victims to return Solstad Offshore the uniforms that they had also washed.

We do not yet know, therefore, whether the commander of the Normand Sapphire decided to push back independently or was ordered to do so by some authority.

We do not yet know, therefore, on whose authority the captain of the Normand Sapphire was actin when they handed over the people they had rescued to the Libyan militias.

Known legal precedents include:

• the Asso Ventotto case, in which Commander Sotgiu was sentenced to one year in prison for having, at his own discretion, pushed back to Libya 101 people, including minors.
• The Asso Ventinove case, in which the commander, the company, and Italy were ordered to compensate the rejected people, and the Italian government has so far been ordered to grant a visa to one of them.
• The Vos Triton case, in which the Italian government has so far been ordered to grant a visa to one of them.
• Other cases are pending.

JLProject is meticulously reconstructing the case and will publish everything on its database in the future.