24/06: Travellers in distress in the Central Mediterranean, rescued by military vessel

25.06.2017 / 17:07 / Central Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 24th of June 2017

Case name: 2017_06_24-CM109
Situation: Around 200 travellers in distress north of Al Khums, rescued by military vessel
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Saturday the 24th of June 2017 at 7.30am, Father Mussie Zerai alerted the Alarm Phone to a boat in distress, carrying around 200 travellers, amongst them 15 children and 20 women. Their exact position was unknown. We did not manage to reach the travellers, but at 7.52am we called the Italian coast guard, who were already aware of the case, but told us that they did also not know the position of the vessel, and asked us to forward the position, if we managed to get this. We could see that one of the civil Search and Rescue (SAR) vessels was heading in the direction of the vessel, and got in touch with them to ask if they were searching for this boat, which they confirmed. Although we were not able to reach the travellers ourselves, we could see that they were in contact with others by monitoring their credit, which we recharged to allow them to keep communicating. Apart from this we sent them several text messages, providing them with the number of the Italian coast guard and explaining how to find their GPS position on their Thuraya phone. At 3.42pm the civil SAR vessel informed us that the travellers had been rescued by a military vessel and would be brought to Italy. This was later confirmed by the Italian coast guard.

Last update: 17:11 Jul 26, 2017

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