08/01: Two boats in distress off Morocco, one returned to Morocco, one rescued to Spain

09.01.2019 / 16:10 / Western Mediterranean, Morocco/Spain

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 08th of January 2019

Case name: 2019_01_08-WM364
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to emergency situations in the Western Med
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Tuesday, the 8th of January 2018, the Alarm Phone was alerted to two boats in distress off the coast of Morocco. The first boat carried 45 people and was at severe risk of sinking. They were found and rescued by the Moroccan Navy and returned to Morocco. The second boat carried 10 people and was eventually rescued to Spain.

Case 1: The Alarm Phone was contacted at 5.06am CET by a contact person and alerted to a boat carrying 45 people, including 6 women. We were told that they were in severe distress as their boat had already started to sink. We spoke to the people on the boat at 5.11am and they were clearly in panic, shouting for help. We informed both the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo (SM) as well as MRCC Rabat. At 5.28am we were able to speak to the boat again and asked them for a GPS position. We received a location ten minutes later via our contact person. We informed the Spanish authorities about their location at 5.40am and the Moroccan authorities at 5.47am. At 6.19am, we received an updated position from the boat which we forwarded to the Spanish authorities. We spoke to the travellers again at 6.39am and they told us that their engine had broken down and people were already in the water, holding on to the boat. Once again we passed on updated GPS positions to the authorities. At 8.05am, SM informed us that the boat had been found by the Moroccan Navy. The people were returned to Morocco. Our contact person confirmed also that they had been returned but at least they were safe.

Case 2: At 11.35am, we were informed by a contact person about a boat in the Strait of Gibraltar carrying 10 people. We also received their GPS position as well as a phone number. We spoke to the travellers at 11.40am, and they told us that they were tired and water was entering their boat. They had left from Tangier. At 11.48am, SM confirmed that they were searching for this boat. We later received the confirmation that they had been rescued to Spain.

Last update: 16:13 Jan 27, 2019

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