02/08 65 people arrive under their own steam to Lampedusa

03.08.2020 / 21:45 / Central Mediterranean

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 2nd of August 2020

Case name: 2020_08_2-CM278

Situation 65 people arrive under their own steam to Lampedusa

Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Central Mediterranean

Summary of the Case:

At about 23:15 on 2 August 2020 we were phoned by people on a boat between Malta and Lampedusa. The boat carried around 65 people. Although they had a satellite phone, they felt hopelessly lost in the pitch dark in the middle of the sea. They asked us to contact the Maltese authorities which we attempted to do. As always there was no response.

We kept in contact with the boat as best we could as they moved towards Lampedusa. We updated the coastguards with their evolving position. We lost contact with the people in the small hours of the morning, but were relieved to receive a phone call from them at 06:30 on 3 August. They were closer to Lampedusa but still lost at sea. With no response from the authorities, shortly after 08:30, we took to Twitter:

Last night, #AlarmPhone was alerted by another boat in distress in #Malta SAR zone. ~65 people fleeing Libya are on board. Communication to the boat is very difficult as calls repeatedly break down. Rescue is needed!

We had no news from the boat, the coastguards or the relatives for the next few hours. Just before midday we relieved to receive a phone call from one of the relatives who had seen a Facebook post from a local TV station in Lampedusa showing their loved ones arriving. Welcome to Europe.

Last update: 19:16 Dec 05, 2020

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