22/10 Alarm Phone alerted to boat carrying 9 people from Morocco, rescued to Spain

26.10.2017 / 17:05 / Western Mediterranean, Morocco/Spain

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 22nd of October 2017

Case name: 2017_10_22-WM170
Situation: Alarm Phone alerted to emergency situation in the Western Med
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Sunday the 22nd of October 2017, our Alarm Phone shift team was informed at 4.56am by a contact person in Morocco about a boat carrying 9 people. They had left at 9pm the evening before from Cap Spartel/Tangier and we received a phone number of one of the travellers at 5.32am. We reached the boat shortly afterwards and spoke to a man who said that their boat was still able to move on. On vessel tracking websites our shift team detected an asset of the Spanish search and rescue organisation Salvamento Maritimo heading in the direction of the boat, the location of which we had received at 6.27am. The people on the boat confirmed that they could see a vessel approaching but they could not confirm whether or not the rescue vessel had spotted them. They were also not able to see whether it was a red vessel from Salvamento or a white one from the Moroccan Navy. At 6.44am, we spoke to Salvamento Maritimo and forwarded the GPS position of the boat in distress. They confirmed that they would rescue the passengers. At 6.53am, we passed on an updated GPS position to the Spanish authorities. At 7.36am, Salvamento Maritimo confirmed to us that they had rescued the 9 people, who were then brought to Tarifa/Spain. We passed the confirmation on to our contact person. He in turn informed us at 3.28pm that he had spoken to the people and they also confirmed that they had safely arrived.
Last update: 10:49 Oct 29, 2017
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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