17/06 72 people embarked in Zuwara, rescued by Seawatch; Travellers return by themselves to Libya, 3 die

18.06.2020 / 18:01 / Central Mediterranean

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 17th of June 2020

Case name: 2020_06_17-CM253

Situation: 72 people embarked in Zuwara, rescued by Seawatch; Travellers return by themselves to Libya, 3 die

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the Case:

On a day in which a huge number of people appear to have fled Libya, largely to be intercepted by the so Called Libyan Coastguard and returned to Tripoli as this tweet from the UNHCR Libya, makes clear:

Libyan Coast Guard conducted multiple rescue/interception operations today. The initial figure, which is not confirmed yet, is 350 persons that will disembark within the next hour in Tripoli. Our medical partner@RESCUEorg is ready to respond.

we were contacted by a group of 72 people of varying nationalities who had left from Zuwara and were now in distress in international waters. They had been at sea for over 13 hours when they contacted us at about 15:00 CEST. We contacted the Libyan coastguard but, fortunately, some of the civil fleet were also in operation. We were also able to contact Seawatch 3 and Mare Junio. We passed on the position of the boat and stay try to stay in contact with the travellers in distress. We passed on updated positions to the coastguard and the NGO boats. Seawatch was able to locate a boat near to the position we had received around 20:30. They brought the passengers on board. We were later able to confirm that Seawatch has indeed rescued our boat.

We condemn the European practice of treating gangsters as a legitimate coastguard and thank the civil fleet for stepping in when the European Union would rather let people die.

On the same day, at around 15:40 CEST, we were contacted by a relative of somebody on a boat in distress. They told us that the boat had left from Libya in the small hours of the morning. They were not able to give us a position. We try to stay in contact with the relative, but communication was poor. Early the next morning we were told that the boat had returned by itself to Libya. They had run into trouble and were not clear about which direction to navigate in. We were also told that three people, two from Sudan and 1 from Niger, had died. We blame the European authorities and the criminals they fund in Libya for these unnecessary deaths. Free movement for all.

Last update: 18:27 Sep 24, 2020

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