25/05: 4 travellers intercepted by Marine Royale

26.05.2018 / 20:47 / Western Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 25th of May 2018

Case name: 2018_05_25-WM235
Situation: 4 travellers intercepted and brought back to Morocco
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Friday the 25th of May, at 4.55am, the Alarm Phone shift team was alerted by a contact person to a group of 4 travellers, forwarding us their phone number. We immediately reached the travellers, who told us that they had left from Cap Spartel 20 minutes earlier. They were rowing towards Spain, and the situation on the boat was still calm. The call was interrupted, and for a while we were not able to reach the travellers. When we finally reached them at 7.29am, they informed us that they were well. Through the contact person we received their position, showing that they were still very close to the coast. Via WhatsApp we were able to receive their updated position, and could thus follow their trajectory, and see that they made good progress. At 10.30am we called the Spanish search and rescue organisation, Salvamento Maritimo, passing on the information we had about the travellers, as we knew they were exhausted and were asking for help. Only three minutes after, we received a message from the contact person informing us that the travellers had been intercepted by the Moroccan Marine Royale.

Last update: 20:50 Jun 09, 2018

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