16/05: 81 people drifting in Maltese SAR zone, rescued by Sea-Eye

17.05.2021 / 17:31 / Central Mediterranean

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – May 16th 2021

Case name: 2021_05_16-CM439

Situation: 81 people drifting in bad weather conditions, rescued by Sea-Eye

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of Case

In the evening of May 16th Alarm Phone was alerted to a boat in distress carrying 81 people, including women and children. At the time of the distress call, the caller related the situation to be desperate, people panicking, and the boat being assaulted by strong winds. We informed authorities at 22.25 CEST. We received panicked phone calls throughout the small hours of the morning from the people in distress, and lost contact thereafter. At 08.11 CEST May 17th people in distress called us, relating an updated GPS position and highlighting their very critical condition with broken motor, drifting. Our attempt to contact authorities in Malta via phone remained unsuccessful. In the afternoon of the same day we became aware of a tweet by Sea-Eye matching the description of this distress case.

Last update: 16:51 Dec 05, 2021

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