Regensburg (dpa / lby) - The aid organization Sea-Eye fears that it will lack the money for many rescue operations in the Mediterranean in the coming year. The donations received fell by 23 percent in 2022, the Regensburg organization announced on Thursday. "The situation is very serious," said Gorden Isler, chairwoman of Sea-Eye e.V. This year, a mission had to be canceled for financial reasons. It looks even worse for the coming year.

According to the organization, the rescue ship "Sea-Eye 4" is due to set off on a mission in January, but this has still not been funded. A total of six missions are actually planned for 2023. According to the organization, a month of rescue operations costs 250,000 euros. Shortly before Christmas, the "Sea-Eye 4" rescued more than 100 migrants in the Mediterranean and brought them to Italy.

The aid organization Sea-Eye was founded in 2015 in Regensburg, Bavaria. Since then, she claims to have rescued more than 17,000 people in distress in the Mediterranean Sea. In addition to private donations, the organization of churches and municipalities is supported. The Sea-Eye association has around 800 members. According to his own statements, he receives donations from around 20,000 individuals every year. Among them, however, are a few permanent donors, which makes Sea-Eye vulnerable to crises, it said.