01/03: Alarm Phone alerted to 3 boats in Western Med; 2 rescued to Spain, 1 intercepted by Moroccan Navy

02.03.2016 / 22:36 / Western Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 1st of March 2016

Case name: 2016_03_01-WM84
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to 3 boats in Western Med; 2 rescued to Spain, 1 intercepted by Moroccan Navy
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Tuesday the 1st of March 2016 the Alarm Phone was alerted to three boats in distress on their way from Morocco to the Spanish coast. While the Spanish coastguard rescued two boats, in one case the travellers were intercepted by the Moroccan Marine and brought back to Morocco.

At 8.26am the Alarm Phone was directly called from a boat in distress, which had left from Malabata Beach near Tangier/Morocco at 1am, with 9 men on board. The travellers told us that they were very close to the Spanish coast and asked us to call the Spanish coastguard, as they were too exhausted to keep on paddling. At 8.30am we called the Spanish coastguard, who had already started to search for the boat, after they had been informed about the distress situation by the travellers themselves. At 8.33am we called the travellers again and informed them that the coastguard had already started a search and rescue operation. Afterwards, we were not able to directly speak to the travellers again, but at 11.25am the Spanish coastguard confirmed to us that they had rescued the 9 travellers from their rubber boat.

At about the same time, we had also been in contact with another boat, which had called us directly at 8.27am (case 2). 6 persons had left Malabata Beach near Tangier/Morocco at 3.30am and they, too, asked us to call the Spanish coastguard, as they were certainly in Spanish territorial waters. Thus, we also informed the Spanish coastguard about this boat in our call at 8.30am and also provided them with all our information in an e-mail at 8.35am. At 09.15am we called the travellers again and learned that they had been rescued by a rescue vessel of Salvamento Maritimo.

At 2.35pm the Alarm Phone was directly called by a boat with 10 travellers on board, who had started from Tangier Med/Morocco at 3am. They were not in distress, but did not know if they had already entered Spanish territorial waters. Thus, we advised them to try to go on and we promised to call them back 30 minutes later. At 2.55pm the travellers already called us back, they were very tired, but still not sure if they had arrived in Spanish waters. We again advised them to continue rowing in the direction of the Spanish coast. At 3.20pm we talked again to them and learned that they were close to the Spanish coast. Thus we decided to call Salvamento Maritimo, the Spanish coastguard, at 3.25pm. They asked for the boat’s phone number, but we did not forward it, as we were sure that they would hand it over to the Moroccan coastguard, which would even make it more difficult for the travellers, to reach the Spanish mainland. However, at 3.40pm, we learned from the travellers, that the Moroccan Marine was indeed approaching their boat, and at 3.48pm we were told that the Moroccan Marine had started a rescue operation of the boat in question.
Last update: 22:40 Mar 09, 2016
Credibility: UP DOWN 0
Layers »
  • 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

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