15/06: Boat from Al Khums, rescued by the Italian Coastguard

16.06.2017 / 14:30 / Central Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 15th of June 2017

Case name: 2017_06_15-CM108
Situation: Boat from Al Khums
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Thursday the 15th of June 2017, at 7.50am, Father Zerai alerted us by email to a boat in distress in the Central Mediterranean. He had the position of the boat, and the contact of a person on board, but no more information of their situation. We tried to reach the travellers, but could not get ahold of them. At 8.55 we received a second email from Father Zerai indicating the boat's new position near Al Khums (outside the Lybian zone) and that there were about 105 persons on board. We called the Italian Coastguard about the case. They told us that they had started a search mission already. On Marinetraffic we could see that the Save the Children SAR boat Vos Hestia was moving into the direction of the boat in distress.

We also contacted the crew of the humanitarian airplane Moonbird. They were available and started searching for the boat. At 10am they informed us that they had spotted the vessel in question. We forwarded the updated position of the boat to the Italian Coastguard and the info that the engine of the boat had stopped. The Italian Coastguard told us that the Vos Hestia was about 20 miles away from the position, and that they would take about 3 hours to reach the boat. We kept updating the Italian Coastguard regarding the position of the boat, which after a while had managed to start the engine again. At 12.50pm the Italian Coastguard told us that the Vos Hestia was now involved in the rescue operation of another boat, so that a second SAR boat was needed to reach the vessel with the 105 travellers. The Moonbrid crew on the othes hand could observe that it was the boat with the 105 persons they had spotted before that the Vos Hestia was rescuing. We contacted the Italian Coastguard again to tell them that the Vos Hestia was rescuing 'our' boat. The Italian Coastguard said they would verify this information.
At 11.15pm we spoke with the Italian Coastguard again (during the whole afternoon they had not responded to phone calls, as they had been too busy). They did not give us any info about our specific case, but assured us that all boats in distress had been rescued in the Central Med today.

Last update: 16:12 Jul 26, 2017

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