Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 20th of December 2019

Case name: 2019_12_20-CM216
Situation: 112 and 50 travellers rescued by Ocean Viking and brought to Italy
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the Case:

On 20 December the Alarm Phone was in contact with two boats which started from Libya to reach Europe. One boat with 112 people, among them 30 women and 8 children, was rescued by Ocean Viking in the morning. The other boat with 50 people was rescued in Maltese waters in the evening also by Ocean Viking. All passengers were disembarked in Taranto, Italy, at 23 December.

On 20 December at 03:44h CET our shift team was called from a satellite phone. The travelers stated to be 108 people, among them 30 women and 8 children. They said they left Zawiya around 20:00h the day before without life jackets. At 04:05h CET the Alarm Phone informed the so-called Libyan coastguard via email as well as the NGO Ocean Viking which was in vicinity and provided both with the GPS position given by the travelers. Around 2 hours later our shift team received a new GPS position and the information that the engine was not working anymore and water was about to enter the boat. The position was forwarded to the so-called Libyan coastguard and Ocean Viking. At 06:28h the Alarm Phone learned that Ocean Viking assessed the situation with their RIHBs and was about to rescue the travelers from the overcrowded boat. They also stated to have tried to establish contact to the so-called Libyan coastguard without success. At 08:22h our shift team was informed that the rescue was completed at 07:59h and all 112 survivors were safe.

The next call from a satellite phone came in at 17:47h CET. We were informed that 40 people and one infant were on board. They told they left the day before around midnight. Coordinates were passed to the shift team but it was hard to figure out the right format as we received only numbers. The shift team called the travelers at 18:30h again to double check the numbers. They changed slightly. Despite our doubts about the correctness and the right format we called MRCC Rome as the GPS position seemed to be in Italian waters and passed the numbers as we got them. Meanwhile all attempts to reach the boat failed. At 19:55h our shift team called MRCC Rome but the authority stated to not have any further information. The port authority in Lampedusa which were called at 19:55h didn‘t know about the case at all. When the Alarm Phone called the Italian coastguard at 21:20h they took the GPS position they already were provided with via email. One hour later MRCC Rome called the shift team by themselves and asked for news. At 00:18h on 21 December the Italian coastguard informed the shift team about a rescue by Ocean Viking in Maltese waters. They were convinced it‘s the boat in question because there were a baby on board, and they added to not have found any boat at the giving GPS position. In a phone call at 02:02h the officer in duty of MRCC Rome explained further why they are so secure: They had spoken to Ocean Viking which learned from the rescued people that they had called the Alarm Phone before.