31/03: 80 people coming from Libya, arrived after long non-assistance on Lampedusa

01.04.2021 / 09:38 / Central Mediterranean

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 31st of March 2021

Case name: 2021_03_31-CM399

Situation: 80 people started from Libya and called Alarm Phone when they were in Maltese SAR zone, RCC Malta denied responsibility the whole time until travellers reached Italian SAR zone, the Italian Coastguard brought them to Lampedusa

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the Case:

Shortly before midnight on 31st of March 2021 Alarm Phone was called by a group of travellers. They told us they were 80 people onboard, many minors, no women and all from Somalia or Etopia. The GPS position they gave to us was located in Maltese SAR zone, the boat was heading to Lampedusa. According to the people the situation onboard was urgent. We immediately called RCC Malta, which was pointless as they didn’t take the phone. We informed them and the NGO Pilote Volontaire via email. We stayed in contact with the travellers the whole night and received updated GPS position which we forwarded to the possible rescuers. At 02:49h on 1st April we published the first tweet and at 8h the travellers stated to be very exhausted and the kids onboard need help urgently. The GPS positions we received in these hours showed that they nearly didn’t move forward. The aircraft of Pilote Volontaire had very likely spotted the boat, it was drifting, and informed the authorities about it. When we called MRCC Rome they clearly said they are not responible. The travellers told us they were dying from hunger, the situation was tense. We spotted a merchant vessel not far away from the boat, the SIDER RODI, and successfully got in contact with the company. They agreed with us to call Malta for orders. When they came back to us we had to realise that Malta was denying that there is any distress case they knew about. We handed out our email communication with RCC Malta to the responsible person of SIDER RODI and additionally called MRCC Lisboa as the SIDER RODI is portuguese flagged. Finally the merchant vessel changed course in direction of the travellers. We advised them to stay calm. In the end SIDER RODI had been advised by RCC Malta to only give water and oil to the travellers, so they can go on to Lampedusa. Meanwhile it was around 13h and the travellers sent us GPS positions regularly. At 14:04h they stated to see land and at 14:21h they sent us a GPS position located in Italian SAR zone. At this point we lost contact to those brave people after more than 14 hours where RCC Malta denied any responsibility.

We called in Lampedusa to ask for rescue but the answers were very vague. Later the day we called again on the island and as they have been many arrivals those day, they couldn't match it with our case. But we learned from friends on the island that the travellers arrived. BOZA.
Last update: 20:32 Aug 28, 2021
Credibility: UP DOWN 0
Layers »
  • 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

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