31/05: 66 travellers returned to Tan Tan by the Moroccan navy

01.06.2022 / 17:03 / Atlantic

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 31st May 2022

Case name: 2022_05_31-ATL055

Situation: 66 travellers in distress in the Atlantic Ocean, intercepted by the Moroccan navy and brought to Tan Tan.

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Atlantic Ocean

Summary of the case: On Tuesday the 31st of May 2022, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a relative to a group of 66 travellers, including 16 women and seven children, in distress in the Altantic Ocean. The travellers had left from Guelmim on a rubber boat and were heading towards Lanzarote. We managed to reach the travellers who told us that they were in urgent distress as their boat was deflating and water was entering. We could hear on the phone that they were panicking. We managed to get their GPS position and immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. We stayed in contact with the travellers and could hear the situation deteriorating and they told us that they would all die. We relayed their updated GPS position to Salvamento Maritimo and the Moroccan search and rescue authorities as often as possible. At 22.45 CEST the travellers reported to us that five people had fallen overboard. At 23.12 CEST another two people had fallen overboard. We relayed this to the authorities. At 23.44 CEST the travellers told us that a white fishing vessel was nearby. At 02.05 CEST the Moroccan rescue authorities confirmed to us that a vessel from the Moroccan navy had been sent towards the last known position of the travellers one hour ago. At 04.00 CEST the travellers had still not been found by the Moroccan navy, but the rescue coordination centre told us that their vessel was in the area, searching. After this, we lost contact to the travellers. At 05.18 CEST the Moroccan rescue authorities informed us that the navy had reached the travellers and that a rescue operation was ongoing. Later in the day we learned that all the travellers had been picked up by the Moroccan navy and brought to Tan Tan.

Last update: 11:27 Aug 07, 2023

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