Vessel in distress in the Central Med, rescued

29.07.2015 / 19:21 / Central Mediterranean Sea, Off the coast of Libya

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigation – 28th of July 2015

Case name: 2015_07_28-CM36
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to vessel in distress in the Central Med, rescued
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Tuesday the 28th of July 2015, at approximately 9am, Nawal Soufi’s activist collective alerted us to an emergency situation in the Central Mediterranean Sea. They passed on the GPS coordinates as well as a satellite phone number of the passengers who, however, could not be directly reached. Our shift team then contacted the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome and received the confirmation that they were already working on this distress situation. We also reached out to the civilian rescue vessel Sea Watch and they confirmed that the cargo vessel Alexander Maersk was already on site and presumably conducting a rescue operation. The crew of the Sea Watch later stated that, in addition to the cargo vessel, there were two Italian coastguard vessels close to the vessel in distress. The Sea Watch then moved to the area of distress and observed the rescue of the vessel. MRCC Rome later also confirmed the rescue of the vessel in question.

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