Watch The Med Alarm Phone Report – 09th of December 2014

Case name: 2014_12_09-CM2
Situation: Vessel adrift and in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea
Status of WTM Investigation: Ongoing (Last update: 12th of December 2014)
Time and Place of Incident: 09th of December 2014, Central Mediterranean Sea

Brief Summary of the Case: A vessel with approximately 400 people on board was adrift in the Central Mediterranean sea for five to six days, about 150 nautical miles off the island of Sicily. The vessel’s crew had disembarked, leaving the refugees, mostly from Syria, behind. Mr L., the brother of one of the passengers on board alerted the Italian coastguard and the Italian Red Cross, as well as the Watch The Med Alarm Phone. The Alarm Phone’s shift team forwarded the number of the Thuraya satellite phone to the Italian coastguard which then located the vessel, coordinated a rescue operation and alerted vessels in vicinity to the refugee vessel in distress. The Icelandic coastal patrol vessel Týr and the Spanish oceanographic vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa directed themselves to the vessel in distress and conducted the rescue operation by transferring the refugees onto their vessels. The refugees were brought to Augusta/Sicily in Italy.

Summary of the Case: On the morning of the 9th of December 2014, Mr L. contacted members of the Watch The Med Alarm Phone and informed the shift team about a vessel in distress in the Central Mediterranean Sea, with approximately 400 passengers on board, amongst them many children. Mr L.’s brother was amongst the refugees who were mainly from Syria and seeking to reach Italy. Following Mr L.’s estimate, the refugee vessel had left Mersin in Turkey on the 4th of December and was thus adrift for 5-6 days. At the time of Mr L.’s call to the shift team, the vessel was located presumably about 150 nautical miles off the Italian island of Sicily. Mr L.’s brother had called him earlier on the 9th of December and Mr L. had in turn notified the Italian coastguard and the Italian Red Cross.

The shift team reached out to the Italian coastguard (MRCC Rome) and forwarded the obtained information as well as the number of the Thuraya satellite phone that the refugees had at hand on the vessel. The coastguard was able to locate the vessel moving towards Italy. They started to coordinate rescue efforts and alerted vessels in vicinity to the vessel in distress. The Icelandic coastal patrol vessel Týr which is part of the Frontex ‘Triton’ patrol operation, arrived first at the scene and began to transfer passengers of the refugee vessel. During the rescue operation, Mr L. notified the shift team that his brother had reached out to him again and confirmed that the Icelandic vessel had begun to transfer passengers but that there would not be enough space on that vessel for all of the refugees. Mr L.’s brother also voiced the concern that the refugees could be pushed-back and not brought to Italy. The Spanish oceanographic vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa then arrived at the scene and disembarked the remaining refugees from the vessel. The refugees who were, apart from two, in good health condition were transferred to Augusta/Sicily in Italy.

The Role of the Alarm Phone: The Alarm Phone was contacted by Mr L. whose brother was one of the passengers on the refugee vessel. Mr L. also reached out to several networks, NGOs and authorities himself. The Alarm Phone’s shift team was able to forward the satellite number to the Italian coastguard and followed the fate of the refugees until they had safely reached Augusta in Italy. The Alarm Phone did not act on its own in this case; several others had equally participated in the important task to alert authorities and the public to in situation of distress at sea. The Alarm Phone constitutes one group amongst many in a civil society that refuses to look away in light of the harrowing situation along Europe’s maritime borders.

With regards to the current developments in the deadly borderzone of the Mediterranean Sea with the abolition of the rescue operation Mare Nostrum it is even more important to monitor the sea space and follow every search and rescue operation conducted therein. The ‘replacement’ operation of Mare Nostrum, the Frontex led operation ‘Triton’ does not prioritise rescue missions but surveillance and control instead. Frontex openly discourages rescue operations beyond the 30-mile-zones off European coasts which means that in the future many more will be left to die in the sea.

Facing these developments and the ongoing misery in the Mediterranean Sea we will not be silent. Family members and various activist/migrant networks and communities raise their voices and work in solidarity to scandalise the situation along Europe’s external borders and to mobilise rescue operations. We would like to thank the relatives in particular who decided to not remain alone with their worries but who broke the silence instead and took the brave step to reach out for help.