18/08: 8 travellers in distress in Maltese SAR, rescued and brought to Malta.

19.08.2021 / 21:42 / Central Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 18th August 2021

Case name: 2021_08_18-CM545

Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to eight travellers in distress in Maltese search and rescue zone who were finally rescued and brought to Malta.

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the case: On Wednesday the 18th of August 2021, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted to a boat with eight people, two women, three men and three children, in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The travellers had left from Libya on a white rubber boat, and sent us their GPS position showing that they were in Maltese waters. They further told us that their situation was very dangerous as water was entering their boat. After this initial call we were no longer able to establish contact to the travellers. We immediately sent an email to all relevant rescue authorities, alerting them to the distress of the travellers. We published the following tweet alerting the public to the situation: https://mobile.twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1428039295579918337?lang=bgSOS! 8 people in distress in Malta SAR! We were alerted by a group on a small boat who fled from Libya. Water is entering the boat. We just were able to communicate with them once about 3h ago. We are worried about their situation

We called the Maltese coastguard, but they were not willing to share information with us about ongoing search and rescue. We therefore added the following tweet:WHERE ARE THEY? We've not been able to reconnect with the 8 people (incl. 3 children) for 5 hours now and are very concerned about their well-being. Waves are up to 2m high, the small boat is in immanent danger of capsizing. @Armed_Forces_MT what are you doing to rescue them?While the Maltese coastguard claimed to be too busy to share information with us, the Italian coastguard denied taking responsibility as the distressed travellers were in Maltese waters.

The next day we finally found out through local news papers that the travellers had been rescued and disembarked in Malta. We closed the case with the following tweet: 11:52 UPDATE: We've learned that the boat in distress was rescued! 7 people disembarked in Malta according to Newsbook. Unfortunately RCC #Malta reveals no info about the circumstances of the rescue.

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