Carola Rackete (pronounced [kaˈʁoːla 'ʁakætə];[nb 1] born 8 May 1988) is a German conservation ecologist, activist, politician and former ship captain.

in Nautical science at Jade University meets the written examination requirement for the captain's licence of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency of Germany, which is later acquired on the basis of professional experience only.

[4] Rackete was a navigation officer for two years in scientific expeditions in the Arctic and the Antarctic for the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research.

[18] In her podcast ‘Just Nature?’, Rackete talks about species extinction and the importance of justice in the global conservation movement.

[19] In November 2021, Racket published the translation of her German environmental justice bestseller, The Time to Act is Now, with the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung.

Sea-Watch 3 rejected an offer to dock at Tripoli, which is considered unsafe by the European Union and the humanitarian organizations, and headed toward Lampedusa.

According to a map they posted,[22] and also to a report by the Süddeutsche Zeitung and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) this was the nearest safe harbor per maritime law.

[24] Italian interior minister Matteo Salvini refused to allow the ship to dock until other European nations had agreed to take the migrants.

[29] In the Netherlands, main government party VVD stated that NGOs that deliberately without permission pick up people should be convicted for facilitating human trafficking.

[32][29] Eventually, Rackete was released from house arrest after a court ruling that she had broken no laws and acted to protect passengers' safety.

[33][34][35] Rackete's lawyer filed a lawsuit against Salvini for defamation on social media, alleging that he incited his followers to threaten her.

[36] The council of the City of Paris on 12 July 2019 announced that the two captains of Sea-Watch 3, Pia Klemp and Carola Rackete, will receive the Grand Vermeil Medal, the top award of the City of Paris, for saving migrants at sea, because the two captains symbolized "solidarity for the respect of human lives".

Klempt wrote in a statement: "You want to award me a medal...because our crews 'work' to rescue migrants from difficult conditions on a daily basis.

[42] On May 19, 2021 a court in Agrigento ruled that no trial should be held, agreeing with a state prosecutor that the actions had been undertaken in an effort to save the lives of the migrants.