12/05: 14-16 travellers missing in the Western Mediterranean, possibly shipwrecked

13.05.2023 / 17:38 / Western Mediterranean

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 12th of May 2023

Case name: 2023_05_12-WM032

Situation: 14-16 travellers missing in the Western Mediterranean, possibly shipwrecked

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the case: On Friday 12th of May 2023, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by relatives to a group of around 14- 16 travellers, including a pregnant woman and several minors, in distress in the Western Mediterranean Sea. The travellers had left from Tibaza, Algeria, on the 8th of May, heading towards Palma de Mallorca. According to the relatives, the boat had left in a convoy with another boat which by then had arrived in Spain. The relatives had lost contact to their loved ones, and we were also not able to establish contact to the boat. However, we immediately alerted the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo, relaying all the information we had. We were not able to get a confirmation from Spanish authorities about the arrival of the boat. It was never possible to establish with certainty what happened to the travellers, as there was a lot of contradicting information from relatives and no clear information from authorities. However, it seems likely that the boat shipwrecked. Our thoughts and solidarity are with the relatives who are now stuck in limbo as their lost ones are missing. We strongly hope that the travellers are safe and sound, but we fear the worst.

Tweets about this case: https://twitter.com/alarm_phone/status/1657993034645078020

Last update: 17:50 Dec 29, 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