28 travellers in distress in Western Med, rescued to Motril/Spain

04.10.2015 / 14:35 / Western Mediterranean Sea

Case name: 2015_10_03-WM61
Situation: 28 people in distress in the Western Mediterranean Sea, rescued to Spain
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Saturday the 3rd of October 2015, at 3.50pm, our shift team was called from someone in Morocco who informed us about a vessel that had left from Nador/Morocco the evening before, at about 10pm. There were 28 people on the boat, including 3 women, one of whom was pregnant. Only minutes later we received another call from a Moroccan phone number and the second contact person informed us about the same vessel. We informed the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo about the situation at 4.17pm. The Spanish authorities told us at 4.47pm that they had detected a rubber vessel that fit our description and would launch a rescue operation shortly. We agreed to speak to them again 4 hours later to confirm the rescue. Afterwards we informed our contact person about the situation. At 5.33pm we reached the group of travellers directly and spoke to a woman who was clearly in panic. We told them to stay calm and wait for the rescue vessel. At 6.50pm we learned through one of the contact persons that the travellers had seen an airplane above them and we passed this information on to Salvamento via email. We spoke to Salvamento again at 7.26pm who were worried about the case as they had, in fact, not located the vessel and it had turned dark in the meantime. The contact person called us repeatedly, expressing how worried he was. He also told us at 7.45pm that he had even informed the Moroccan Navy which refused to search for the vessel as they said that it would probably be in Spanish waters already. At 8pm we received an email from Salvamento in which they told us that the vessel had been sighted by a rescue aircraft approximately 11 miles off the Moroccan Coast. They would send a vessel to that location. We then informed our contact person who in turn informed that travellers. They said that they could see a vessel in vicinity as well as an airplane above them. Afterwards we were unable to contact the travellers directly but received confirmation of their rescue through Salvamento at 10.30pm. We then also informed the contact person about the good news. During the day, 188 people were rescued by the Spanish authorities (source 1).
Last update: 00:10 Oct 06, 2015
Credibility: UP DOWN 0
Layers »
  • Border police patrols
     
    While the exact location of patrols is of course constantly changing, this line indicates the approximate boundary routinely patrolled by border guards’ naval assets. In the open sea, it usually correspond to the outer extent of the contiguous zone, the area in which “State may exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws” (UNCLOS, art. 33). Data source: interviews with border police officials.
  • Coastal radars
     
    Approximate radar beam range covered by coastal radars operating in the frame of national marine traffic monitoring systems. The actual beam depends from several different parameters (including the type of object to be detected). Data source: Finmeccanica.
  • Exclusive Economic Zone
     
    Maritime area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which the coastal state exercises sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, the seabed and its subsoil and the superjacent waters. Its breadth is 200 nautical miles from the straight baselines from which the territorial sea is measured (UNCLOS, Arts. 55, 56 and 57). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans
  • Frontex operations
     
    Frontex has, in the past few years, carried out several sea operations at the maritime borders of the EU. The blue shapes indicate the approximate extend of these operations. Data source: Migreurop Altas.
  • Mobile phone coverage
     
    Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network coverage. Data source: Collins Mobile Coverage.
  • Oil and gas platforms
     
    Oil and gas platforms in the Mediterranean. Data source:
  • Search and Rescue Zone
     
    An area of defined dimensions within which a given state is has the responsibility to co-ordinate Search and Rescue operations, i.e. the search for, and provision of aid to, persons, ships or other craft which are, or are feared to be, in distress or imminent danger. Data source: IMO availability of search and rescue (SAR) services - SAR.8/Circ.3, 17 June 2011.
  • Territorial Waters
     
    A belt of sea (usually extending up to 12 nautical miles) upon which the sovereignty of a coastal State extends (UNCLOS, Art. 2). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans

Related Reports

15:12 Aug 16, 2015 / Western Mediterranean Sea, Morocco Kms
2 Vessels in distress in the Western Med, rescued/intercepted by Morocco
11:42 Aug 25, 2015 / Western Mediterranean Sea, Morocco Kms
11 travellers intercepted by Morocco in the Western Med
15:05 Dec 18, 2017 / Western Mediterranean, Morocco/Spain Kms
17/12 Boat with 12 people left from Tangier/Morocco, rescued to Spain