Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 19 November 2019
Case name: 2019_11_19-CM210
Situation: 124 People Rescued by Ocean Viking from two boats.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the Case: On 19 November 2019, two boats that alerted the Alarm Phone were rescued by the NGO vessel Ocean Viking. One boat, carrying 94 people, was found after we were able to establish good communication with the boat allowing us to keep Ocean Viking and the alledged authorities informed. The second boat, carrying 30 people, was also rescued by the Ocean Viking.

In the early hours of 19 November 2019, our shift team was called by a boat in distress. The people on board were very agitated but we were able to help them calm down a little and they were able to give us their position. They were well north of Libya but still in the disputed Libyan SAR zone. We alerted the Libyan authorities along with Ocean Viking to the boat in distress. We kept the credit on the travellers' phone topped up and also kept in regular contact with them and, with their help, tracked their position. We kept Ocean Viking and the email account of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard abreast of the boat's movement. At 07:00h CET Sea Watch's spotter plane, Moonbird, joined the search and at 08:20 confirmed the rescue of all onboard by Ocean Viking. Once again we must give thanks to the civil fleet who had to step in to save lives because of the EUropean actors' shameful policy of pretending that Libya is a safe third country with a functioning Coast Guard.

We had also been alerted to other boats which had left Libya that morning. Among them was a fibreglass boat in distress with 30 people onboard. We were not able to establish their position. Fortunately at about 16:30h CET they were found by Ocean Viking which was in the area because of our alert in the previous case. By chance and the efforts of non-governmental by Ocean Viking's crew, another disaster was averted.