27/01: WM 1 boat from Karia (56 people) rescued by Algeria & 1 boat rescued to Spain

28.01.2019 / 14:25 / Western Mediterranean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 27th of January 2019
Case name: 2019_01_27-WM370
Situation: WM 1 boat from Karia (56 people) rescued by Algeria & 1 boat (10 people) from Achakar intercepted by Marine Royale, 1 boat rescued to Spain
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Western Mediterranean Sea

Summary of the Case: On January 27, 2019, The Alarm Phone was alerted to three cases of distress. One boat was rescued and brought to Algeria, one was rescued by Salvamento Maritimo and brought to Spain, and in one case we did not have time to get involved before we were informed that the travellers had been intercepted by the Moroccan navy.

In the first case, the shift team was alerted to a boat of 52 people (including 9 women and 2 children) at 2.28am CET that had left from Karia/Nador early the previous morning. The boat travelers were not reachable. The shift team contacted Salvamento Maritimo and published information regarding the boat on social media. At 1.07pm CET, the shift team received confirmation from Salvamento Maritimo that the boat had been picked up by the Algerian search and rescue unit.

In the third case, at 7.15pm CET, the shift team was alerted by a contact person to a case of 39 people, including 21 men, 16 women, and 2 small children that had left Tangiers at 5am local time. At 8pm, the shift team succeeded after multiple attempts to get in touch with the travelers, who asked for help as they were in difficulty and their phones were out of battery. The shift team later learned from the people on board that they had in fact 12 women 2 children on board.
The shift team called Salvamento Maritimo and transmitted the information they had about the boat, although it was not very much. Salvamento Maritimo said they were aware of the case and were looking for the boat. The shift team tried repeatedly to make contact with the boat over the next few hours but the travelers did not answer. Finally, at 9.55pm CET, the shift team received news from Salvamento Maritimo that the boat was rescued and brought to Spain.

Last update: 14:35 Feb 05, 2019

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