13/09: 14 travellers on their way to Cyprus, rescued by the Turkish coast guard.

14.09.2018 / 20:26 / Lebanon/Cyprus

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 13th of September 2018
Case name: 2018_09_13-AEG426 / 2018_09_13-LEB/CYP001
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to a boat on its way to Cyprus. Rescue confirmed by Turkish coast guard.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Thursday the 13th of September at 10.39pm the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a contact person to a boat with around 14 travellers heading towards Cyprus. We were not able to establish direct contact to the boat, but we spoke to many relatives of the travellers. At 0.08am we informed the coast guard on Cyprus about the distress of the travellers. They were already aware of a boat in distress north of Cyprus, and told us that they had been searching for a boat the whole day without results, and that they had also passed on the information to the Turkish coast guard on the Northern Cyprus. We alerted several police stations in the Turkish part of the Northern Cyprus to the distress of the travellers. At 8.30am we called the coast guard in Cyprus again. They told us that they had been searching for the boat, but still without results. At 12.05pm we called the central number of the Turkish coast guard as well, and passed on the information we had. At 11.42pm the Turkish coast guard called us, and informed us that they had rescued the travellers, and that they were all safe.

Last update: 11:04 Nov 04, 2021

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