16/12: 15 travellers in distress in Western Med, safe

17.12.2015 / 19:40 / Western Mediterranean Sea, Morocco

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 16th of December 2015

Case name: 2015_12_16-WM72
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 1 boat in distress in Western Med east of Tétouan, Morocco, rescued
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Wednesday the 16th of December 2015 at 6pm, we received a call about a boat carrying 15 passengers in distress between Tétouan, Morocco and Ceuta. The contact person said that he had called the Moroccan Navy, but that they had refused to help. We reached out to the travellers, but could not communicate with them due to language problems. A few minutes later, the contact person called us again and asked us to call the Moroccan Coast Guard for help, as the boat was in urgent distress. We immediately reached out to the Moroccan Navy, who said that they were already informed and that they had sent a boat and a helicopter to search for the boat. At 7.11pm the contact person informed us that the travellers had managed to reach the beach and they they were safe. The Moroccan Navy had not provided any assistance.

Last update: 12:13 Dec 25, 2015

Credibility:

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