Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 14th of July 2018
Case name: 2018_07_14WM285
Situation: 18 boats in distress, most of them intercepted by the Moroccan navy.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On Saturday the 14th of July, the Alarm Phone shift team was working on 11 distress cases in the strait of Gibraltar. Three of the boats were rescued to Spain and eight of them were returned to Morocco. Apart from the cases we were actively involved in, we were alerted to another seven cases, of which six were intercepted before we had time to intervene, and one was rescued to Spain.

At 7.36am CEST we were alerted by a contact person to a group of 10 travellers in distress. They had been at sea for four hours on a rubber boat without a motor. We managed to reach them, but they were not able to send their position and communication was difficult. After our initial contact, it was no longer possible to reach the travellers. Only at 5.29pm we reached them and learned that they had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy.

At 7.46am CEST we received a direct call from a boat with 11 people, including three women and a baby, in distress. We lost contact to the travellers until 11.14am where they told us that they had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy.

At 8.10am CEST we received a direct call from a group of eight travellers in distress on their way to Spain. They were not able to send us their exact position. At 9.07am we reached the travellers again, and they informed us that they had been intercepted by the Moroccan Navy.

At 8.27am CEST we were informed by a contact person about a boat with 11 people, including one woman, in distress. The contact person forwarded us their position, showing that they were in international waters. At 0.27am we called SM and passed on the information we had. SM informed us at the same time that they were very busy dealing with 25 distress cases. At 12.12pm the contact person informed us that the travellers had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy.

At 8.55am CEST we were alerted to a group of 13 travellers, including two women, in distress. At 9.30am we reached the travellers. An hour later we were informed by the contact person that the travellers had been intercepted.

At 9.25am CEST a contact person alerted us to a group of 11 people who had left from a beach south of Taniger at 5am local time. The contact person forwarded us their updated positions during the following hours. At 11.15am we managed to reach SM, who was already aware of the case and at this point informed us that they were working at 35 distress cases. On vesselfinder we could see that the Spanish search and rescue vessel Salvamar Arcturus was close to the last position we had received from the boat. At 1.52pm we received a confirmation that the travellers had been rescued and were being brought to Spain.

At 9.30am CEST we were alerted by a contact person to a group of 12 people who had left from Tangier at 3am local time. We managed to reach the travellers, who sent us their current position. At 11.15am we reached SM and passed on the information we had. This boat was as well close to the rescue vessl Salvamar Arcturus. Later our shiftteam learned that the boat was intercepted by the Moroccan navy.

At around 11am CEST we were alerted to 12 people, including one pregnant woman, on a rubber boat without a motor. At 11.18am we forwarded the information we had to SM. At 3.20pm we recieved a confirmation that the travellers had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy.

At around 11am CEST we were alerted to a boat with nine travellers, including one woman. At 11.18am we passed on the information to SM. At 3.58pm they confirmed that they were still at sea, after having not been reachable for many hours. After this point it was no longer possible to reach the travellers. As both the Moroccan and Spanish rescue authorities were very busy on this day, it was hard to obtain a confirmation about the rescue of the travellers. Only the next morning at 8.57am did the Moroccan rescue authorities confirm that the travellers had been rescued by SM and brought to Spain.

At 12.02pm CEST we were informed by a contact person about a group of 12 travellers in distress. We were not able to reach the travellers, but via the contact person we received the position of the travellers, showing that they had reached international waters. At 2pm we forwarded the information we had to SM. At 2.47pm we were informed by the contact person that the travellers had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy.

At 12.27pm CEST we were alerted by a contact person to a group of nine travellers, including one woman, forwarding us their phone number and position. The position showed that the travellers had reached international waters. We were not able to reach the travellers, but received updated positions from the contact person. At 2.45pm we alerted SM to the boat. The contact person kept us updated about the position and the situation on the boat, where the woman was getting very sick, which we passed on to SM. At 5.40pm we got a confirmation from the contact person that the travellers had been rescued by SM.