Two vessels carrying more than 350 people in distress in Central Med, rescued

21.07.2015 / 16:15 / Central Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigation – 20th of July 2015

Case name: 2015_07_20-CM34
Situation: Two distress cases in the Central Mediterranean Sea, rescued
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Monday the 20th of July, we were contacted by Nawal Soufi’s activist collective at 2pm and informed about a vessel that had left Libya in the morning, at about 4am (vessel 1). They had no coordinates and passed on a satellite phone number of the travellers which, however, could not be reached.

Shortly afterwards, Father Mussie Zerai contacted our shift team about another distress case in the Central Mediterranean Sea (vessel 2). The provided satellite phone number could also not be reached. We then contacted the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome, the UNHCR and civilian rescue services and informed them about the two emergency situations. Despite continuous attempts, neither of the two numbers could be reached.

At 5.30pm, MRCC Rome informed us that both vessels had been rescued. Vessel 1, carried 254 people and vessel 2 about 101 travellers.

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