28/07 Five boats in distress in the Western Mediterranean, 3 rescued to Spain, 2 returned to Morocco

Verified

  In Distress   Interception

29.07.2018 / 17:29 / Western Mediterranean, Morocco/Spain

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 28th of July 2018

Case name: 2018_07_28-WM299
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to several emergency situations in the Western Med
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Saturday, the 28th of July 2018, the Alarm Phone was alerted to 5 boats in distress in the Western Mediterranean Sea. 3 boats were rescued to Spain, 2 returned to Morocco by the Moroccan Navy.

Boat 1: At 6.09am CEST, we were called by someone on a boat who informed us that they had left from Achakar during the night. The boat was carrying 12 people, including 4 women and 2 children. At 7.55am we informed SM about the situation and passed on a recent GPS position. We were told that the 2 children were unconscious and in urgent need of help. Only in the evening did we receive the information that they had been intercepted by the Moroccan Navy and returned to Morocco.

Boat 2: At around 7.30am, we were informed by a contact person about a boat carrying 11 people, including 5 women. With a new GPS position we alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo (SM) to the case. At 10.34am, we were informed that they had been rescued to Spain.

Boat 3: At around the same time as boat 2, we were informed about a boat carrying 10 people, including 3 women. We informed SM at 7.55am to the case. At 7.58am we received updated GPS coordinates from the travellers which we forwarded to SM. At 10.10am, we were informed that they had been rescued to Spain.

Boat 4: At 8.55am, we received a call from a boat carrying 12 people. They were in distress and in panic. We received their GPS position at 9.15am which we swiftly passed on to SM. We received new GPS positions which we passed on to SM. They were in urgent distress and stating that they would die if no rescue were to show up. At 11.45am, the people from the boat confirmed that they had been rescued by the Moroccan Navy and returned to Morocco.

Boat 5: At 8.57am, we were alerted via a contact person to a boat carrying 12 people, including 1 woman. We received GPS coordinates which we passed on to SM. At 10.42am we received the confirmation that they had been rescued to Spain.
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

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