WatchTheMed Alarm Phone Investigations – 23rd of September 2018
Case name: 2018_09_23-CM136
Situation: 47 people in distress off the coast of Libya
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Sunday, the 23rd of September 2018, shortly after midnight, the Alarm Phone was called directly from a boat in distress off the coast of Libya. The boat had left from Zuwarah and carried 47 people, including 16 men, 15 women, and 16 children. We received their GPS position and were informed that water was entering the vessel. The boat was overcrowded and we heard people crying in the background.

At 1.12am, we informed the NGO vessel Aquarius and passed on the GPS position to them. Several hours later, at around 5am, we heard again from the people on the boat. They were anxious and the engine was dysfunctional. They said that one of the women was pregnant and were calling for help. We received their updated GPS position which we passed on to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome at 5.05am. At 5.15am, the people on the boat informed us that they could see lights in the distance. At 5.32am, we received an updated GPS position clearly showing them in international waters. In our last conversation with the people they were clearly in panic and then our communications then broke off.

At 6.30am, MRCC Rome informed us that they had passed the case on to the Libyan authorities, suggesting that they would carry out a Search and Rescue (SAR) operation. We tried to call the Libyan authorities but were unable to reach them. We also informed the non-governmental reconnaissance aircraft Colibri about the boat in distress who launched a search operation. Despite being ordered by the Libyan authorities to leave the SAR zone, the Aquarius crew intervened when spotting the boat in distress and rescued the people onto their boat. Later on, they tweeted: “In what was a long & complicated search & rescue, and after negotiations with the Libyan coastguard, the #Aquarius this morning has safely brought onboard 47 people - including 17 minors & one pregnant woman - from a wooden boat in distress in international waters." Once again, this was an instance of practical solidarity at sea – with the Alarm Phone being called by those on the move and us in turn alerting the non-governmental rescuers who eventually rescued the distressed despite the obstacles put in their path by Italian and Libyan authorities.