16/05: 60 people started from al-Zawiya, no clarification possible

17.05.2019 / 18:03 / Central Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 16th of May 2019

Case name: 2019_05_15-CM160

Situation: 60 people missing

Status of WTM Investigation: closed without clarification

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On May 16th at 0.48 am CEST the Alarm Phone received a call from a relative who informed us about a boat in distress. The boat had left from al-Zawiya, Libya at 10pm CEST the last day. The person provided us with the telephone number of the travellers but the Alarm Phone could not establish contact to them. Some time later the Alarm Phone learned that the travellers did not have a satellite phone with them. The shift team alerted the civil aircraft Moonbird to the case, although it seemed very unlikely that they would find the boat. At 8:28 am the Alarm Phone had the last time contact to the relative who stated to have no news. Shortly thereafter Moonbird informed us that they could not find them neither. Alarm Phone tried to reach the relative and the travellers for several hours and then decided to close the case without clarification of the fate of the travellers.

This example shows that people try to escape Libya with all means and even without any real chance to get rescued. Without a satellite phone no GPS position can be transfered and the localisation of the boat is nearly impossible.

Last update: 18:10 Jul 02, 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