Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 20th of December 2018
Case name: 2018_12_20-CM145
Situation: Interception and Rescue off the coast of Libya
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On December 20th, 2018, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted to two cases in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The first was a boat of 20 people that was intercepted and brought back to Libya. The second concerned 3 boats with 300 people in total, that were rescued by Open Arms and brought to Spain.

In the first case, the shift team was alerted at 11pm CET to a boat of 20 people (including two pregnant women) that had left from Zuwarah, Libya several hours earlier. The boat was in distress as water was entering. The shift team maintained contact with the boat and replenished the Thuraya phone credit. The shift team also called the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Italy with the information, and maintained contact. At 5.58am, the shift team called the Libyan Coastguard as the situation was desperate, but there was not answer. NGOs operating in the central Mediterranean were also informed. Ultimately, the boat was rescued by the Libyan forces and returned to Libya. At 10am the following day, the shift team received confirmation.

In the second case, the Alarm Phone received a call at 8.22pm CET about a convoy of boats of about 300 people in the central Mediterranean that had left from Libya. During the initial phone call with the individuals on board, they were not in distress and continued rowing on their own towards Malta. The shift team tried to reach the boat over the course of the entire night, but no other contact could be established. However basic information was handed over to the air plane Colibri, which was able to identify the boats and notify the NGO Open Arms. As Open Arms was nearby, it was able to conduct rescue operations of all 3 boats, and at 10pm the following day, it was confirmed that the boats were on their way to Spain.