15/11: 13 travellers in distress in the Central Med, fate unknown

16.11.2021 / 19:04 / Central Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 15th November 2021

Case name: 2021_11_15-CM624

Situation: 13 travellers in distress on their way from Tunisia to Sicily, Alarm Phone was never able to establish what happened to them.

Status of WTM Investigation: fate unknown

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the case: On Monday the 15th of November 2021, the Alarm Phone shift team ws alerted by a relative to a group of 13 travellers in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea. The travellers had left from Bizerte, Tunisia, at around midnight on a white rubber boat, heading towards Sicily. The relative told us that the boat had capsized, but that they could see the Sicilian coast when they were last in contact with people on land. We were not able to reach the travellers but immediately called the Tunisian coastguard, relaying all information we had about the distress case. In addition we alerted the Italian and Maltese coastguards via email. We were never able to reach the travellers, nor to obtain information from the authorities about whether a boat corresponding to this description had been rescued. We very much hope that the travellers were either rescued or made it to shore by themselves.

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