On 20 December, 2019, Ocean Viking rescued 162 people, including 5 pregnant women and 8 young children and babies, from two boats in distress. TThe first - a deflating rubber boat with 112 people on board - was rescued 34 nautical miles from the Libyan coast at dawn. The second was an overcrowded wooden boat. After an eight-hour search, the rescue happened late at night in bad weather in the Maltese search and rescue region.

With the Central Mediterranean hit by severe weather and westerly gales and with no permission to disembark in a place of safety, Ocean Viking took shelter east of Sicily. One woman in need of hospital treatment was medically evacuated from Ocean Viking by helicopter, along with her baby and her sister.

Two days after the rescue, the Ocean Viking was given a place of safety by Italian maritime authorities. The next day, on 23 December the 159 rescued people left on board were disembarked in Taranto, Italy.