Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 14th of August 2018
Case name: 2018_08_14-WM310
Situation: 3 boats (1 rescued by Salvamento Maritimo, 2 intercepted by Marine Royale)
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On August 14th, the Alarm Phone was alerted to 3 boats having left from Morocco. One was rescued by the Salvamento Maritimo and brought to Spain, while the other two were intercepted by the Marine Royale.

In the first case, the shift team was alerted to a boat at 7.02am CEST about a boat of 13 people (including 2 women). The shift team was able to get in touch with them and received their position. They kept in touch until 14.19pm, when the shift team was informed that the boat had been intercepted by the Marine Royale and brought back to Morocco.

In the second case, a boat of 13 people (including 4 women) contacted the shift team at 7.08am CEST. The team kept in contact with the boat for several hours, and at 11.07am informed Salvamento Maritimo that the boat was in distress. At 14.19pm, the team received confirmation that the boat had been brought to Spain by Salvamento Maritimo.

Finally, at 17.18pm CEST, the Alarm Phone was alerted to a boat of 5 people. The boat was pierced and so the travelers wanted to be rescued by Salvamento Maritimo. After receiving the position of the boat, the shift team called the Salvamento Maritimo and informed them of the situation. At 17.50pm, the travelers contacted the Alarm Phone again to reiterate that the situation was very bad, as they were stressed and one person was sick. As the situation was quite dire, the team called MRCC Rabat to make sure they knew about the boat of 5 people that needed to be rescued. The shift team lost contact with the boat as the travelers were not picking up the phone, and tried to check in regularly with MRCC Rabat to be updated on the status of the boat. Throughout the night, the shift team continued to try to get information from Salvamento Maritimo, Marine Royale, and the travelers. The travelers did not pick up, and the coast guards did not share substantial information. The following day, at 14.12pm, the shift team was informed that the travelers were intercepted and brought back to Morrocco, and were currently at the police station.