Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 3rd of August 2020
Case name: 2020_08_03-CM279
Situation: 26 travellers in distress in the Central Med rescued by the Italian coastguard and brought to Lampedusa, 27 travellers rescued by Maersk Etienne and stuck for 38 days.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Cases:
On Monday the 3rd of August the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted to two boats in distress in the Central Mediterranean sea. The first boat with 26 travellers were rescued by the Italian coastguard and brought to Lampedusa. The second boat was rescued by the merchant vessel Maersk Etienne in an operation coordinated by Maltese authorities. After rescue, the travellers were stuck on board this ship, which was not equipped to take care of this emergency situation in the longest standoff witnessed by Alarm Phone. Finally, the travellers were allowed to disembark in Italy.

At 12.38 CEST the Alarm Phone received a direct call from a boat in distress in the central Mediterranean Sea. On board the boat were 26 people, including two pregnant woman and nine children. The travellers forwarded us their position, and informed us that they were running out of fuel for their engine and that their satellite phone did not have much battery left. At 12.58 we sent an email to the relevant authorities, including the civil aircraft Moonbird, alerting them to the situation. We further raised awareness about the situation of the boat via social media. At 16.18, after not having been able to reach the travellers for a while, we received another call from the boat with an updated position and in which the travellers stressed the urgency of their situation. At 16.46 Alarm Phone received an email from Moonbird addressed to all relevant authorities, stating that they had spotted the boat and providing a position and estimated speed of the travellers, urging the authorities to launch a search and rescue operation. The position provided by Moonbird at this time showed that the travellers were 2.9nm from the Italian search and rescue zone.
At 17.45 we called the Italian coastguard again, referring to the position provided by Moonbird. The duty officer insisted that this position was in Maltese search and rescue zone and then hung up on us.
However, at 20.34 we received information that the travellers had arrived to Lampedusa with the Italian coastguard.

At 21.47 CEST, the Alarm Phone shift team received a direct call from a boat in distress in the central Mediterranean Sea, carrying 27 travellers. The communication was difficult due to technical issues with the satellite phone on board. The travellers told us that there were high waves and that they had problems with their engine, but that the boat still was moving. Our shift team further managed to understand part of a position, which we passed on to the relevant authorities at 22.28 along with the rest of the information we had about the case.
At 22.47 we tried to call the Maltese coastguard, but no one picked up the phone.
At 23.30 we spoke to the travellers again. They informed us that their engine was no longer working, and that the situation was getting increasingly dangerous due to high waves. During the time the travellers were in distress, our shift team was able to recharge credit to their satellite phone, allowing them to remain in contact with us and with the coastguards.
At midnight we reached the Maltese coastguard, who told us that they were investigating the case. At 04.15 we managed to reach the travellers again, after having tried many times without success. We received a new position, showing that they had moved 27nm west since the last position they provided at 21.48 the previous evening. On vesselfinder we spotted the merchant vessel Maridive 601 3.24nm north west of this position. 15 minutes later, the travellers confirmed to us that they could see a big vessel in the vicinity. We forwarded the updated position to the relevant authorities, along with the information about the nearby merchant vessel which could be deployed for rescue. At 05.40 we further wrote an email to the company of the merchant vessel, forwarding them our information about the case and stressing that the travellers needed urgent rescue. At 06.15 we spoke to the travellers again. They informed us that still more water was entering the boat, that they had run out of fuel, and that none of the travellers were wearing life vests.
At 07.16 the travellers gave us their updated position, showing that they were inside the Maltese search and rescue zone. They also informed us that the boat is broken, and that a woman onboard in sick, and asked us to urge the authorities to rescue them immediately. Our shift team forwarded this information to the relevant authorities, along with the manager of the Maridive 601. At 07.46 we attempted to call the Maltese coastguard again, but after introducing ourselves as Alarm Phone, the duty officer hung up on us. After this, we did not manage to get through to them.
I a call with the travelers at 08.55 where they gave us their updated position, we learned that they had also tried calling the Maltese coastguard, but that they also did not manage to reach them. However, at 09.24 we reached the Maltese coastguard, who confirmed to us that they were in contact with the travelers.
In a call with the travelers at 10.11 our shift team could hear that they were panicking; there was screaming in the background and the travelers told us that they had been at sea for three days with no one answering their call for help, that they were loosing hope and thought they were about to die. Following this call we once again urged the authorities along with the merchant vessel Maridive 601 to rescue the travelers immediately. In our next call with the travelers at 11.21 they forward us a position very close to the last position we received. The position shows that they are not moving very much; however, we forward it to the relevant authorities, along with the information that the boat is left adrift and that they need urgent rescue.
At 12.57 the travelers told us that the Maltese coastguard had confirmed to them on the phone that they were on their way. They also informed us that they could see a vessel close by and a white airplane circling them. The information about the airplane corresponded with the information that the civil aircraft Moonbird operated by Sea Watch was looking for the drifting boat. At 13.10 the Alarm Phone received an email from Moonbird addressed to the authorities, stating that they had spotted the travelers, forwarding their position in the Maltese search and rescue zone, and stressing that immediate rescue was required. Moonbird also informed the authorities about the presence of the merchant vessel Maridive 601 1nm away from the travelers.
At 14.17 we also became aware of the presence of the Danish merchant vessel Maersk Etienne close to the travelers. In a call to the travelers at 14.35 they informed us that they could see another ship in the distance, and in another call at 15.08 the travelers confirmed to us that this ship carried the name Maersk Etienne. On vesselfinder our shift team was able to monitor the trajectory of the Maersk Etienne, showing that the ship had taken a sharp turn from its path towards Tunisia, and was seemingly heading towards the position of the travelers. At 16.04 we learned that Maersk Etienne had arrived on scene and secured the boat on starboard side and provided assistance. We were further made aware that the crew had been instructed by Maltese authorities to stand by until rescue arrived, but not rescue the travelers onboard their vessel. In a call to the Maltese coastguard at 16.35, 15,5 hours since they were first alerted to the distress case, they confirmed that they were “managing the situation” but they were not willing to give us any further information.
After many attempts to find out if the travelers were safe, our shift team called the Danish coastguard at 20.22, asking them for information on the rescue operation by the Danish merchant vessel. After attempts by the Danish coastguard to get news from about the rescue operation, they informed us that the Maersk Etienne was trying to reach the boat, and that they would stay in contact with the merchant vessel to follow the situation. In the evening we were not able to reach the contact person of the merchant vessel directly. In the meantime, Malta remained unwilling to give us any information about ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the travelers, who would still be in a very dangerous situation onboard their boat as waves were 1,4m high and it was getting dark. Our shift team also contacted the Maersk company directly via email, urging them to rescue the travelers. At 00.42 on the 5th of August the Danish coastguard also still had not received news from Maersk.
At 06.07 our shift team reached the Maltese coastguard, who now informed us that the rescue operation was not coordinated by Malta, as they claimed that the travelers were within the Libyan search and rescue zone. However, the duty officer confirmed to us on the phone that the travelers had been picked up by the Maersk Etienne. Later in the morning, as we were in contact with the Maersk company, they told us that they could not give us any further information, due to the challenging political situation in the region.
As we were worried that the Maltese authorities were attempting a pushback to Libya, we attempted to reach the so-called Libyan coastguard in order to obtain information about this. However, we were not able to establish contact to them on any of the multiple numbers we tried. We further requested to speak to the spokesperson of Maersk in order to forward our questions to this person. We also tried calling the Maltese coastguard again, but they hung up on us when we introduced ourselves as Alarm Phone and did not pick up when we tried to call back.
At 12.06 we finally reached the Libyan coastguard who told us that the travelers had not arrived in a Libyan port. 20 minutes later we received an email from Maersk confirming that they had rescued all 27 travelers on board their vessel, and that the boat of the travelers sank during this operation. They further stated that they had supplied the travelers with food, water and blankets, and would continue to support them. Maersk told us that they were proceeding towards Malta and working on finding a solution for safe disembarkation for the travelers.
Following the rescue, we witnessed the longest standoff in the Mediterranean in the almost six years the Alarm Phone has been working in the area, where no state would let the travellers disembark. For 38 days the travelers were onboard the Maersk Etienne, without receiving adequate medical care and without access to basic hygiene facilities. During this period, three of the travelers jumped overboard as a result of the desperate situation, but were fortunately rescued by the crew, and more threatened to go into hunger strike. The Alarm Phone followed the situation and regularly published tweets scandalising the lack of will from European politicians to ensure the safety of the travelers and allowing them to enter a safe port. After 38 days, the situation was handled not by European states, but by the civil fleet when the travelers were transferred to Mediterranea, where they could finally receive medical attention. On the 12th of September, the travelers were finally allowed to disembark in Pozzallo, Italy.