150 people in distress in the Atlantic Ocean
The position we receive from the people on the boat on Saturday evening shows them clearly to be in the Spanish SAR zone.
In the early morning of Saturday, 26th October, Alarm Phone is contacted by a satellite phone number. After initial communication problems, the people on the boat tell us at 03:45 CEST that they are 150 people, left Senegal (Niodior) on Monday evening (21st October) and that by now, they are rather exhausted.
At 04:28 CEST and 04:40 CEST, we alert Salvamento Maritimo in Las Palmas via email and phone, who acknowledge receiving thQe information about the distress case. We also supply the authorities with a satellite phone number so that they can track the GPS position of the phone and thus the boat.
In the following hours, we try in vain to reach the people on the boat.
At 08:32 CEST, we are in contact again with Salvamento Maritimo in Las Palmas who haven’t so far managed to reach the boat because of a wrong dial code, we explain how to dial correctly. They tell us that they also informed MRCC Teneriffe. We continue to try to reach the people on the boat, in vain.
At 11:41 CEST, we publish a tweet about the boat: https://x.com/alarm_phone/status/1850110440803598558
At 14:20 CEST, we obtain information from MRCC Madrid that MRCC Rabat is in charge of the case. We immediately contact MRCC Rabat who informs us that they got a GPS-position from the Spanish MRCC and have asked a merchant vessel to look for the boat. However, Rabat admits that they cannot do much more themselves, since they do not have an asset in the region.
At 16:20 CEST, we manage to get through to the people on the boat again, but do not receive a GPS position.
At 16:42 CEST (and 17:28 CEST), we write again to the authorities to push for a rescue.
At 17:02 CEST, we inform Las Palmas that Rabat is not carrying out a rescue operation. At a later stage, we receive contradictory information by MRCC Rabat, who tell us at 18:52 CEST that they indeed have an asset looking for the boat.
At 18:14 CEST, we receive a text message from the satellite phone on board. The people tell us that both their engines have broken down. That means they are now drifting in extremely adverse weather conditions.
At 18:36 CEST, we write again to the Moroccan authorities to push for a rescue and also call MRCC Rabat. Then we call SM Las Palmas to insist they should look for a new position of the satellite phone and transmit it to MRCC in Rabat. When we call back Rabat, an officer tells us an operation is ongoing and that Marine Royale is at sea but has not found the boat yet.
At 19:23 CEST, the people on the boat manage to give us their position: N 21° 00.994‘; W 18° 29.992‘. This position is clearly located within the Spanish Search and Rescue Zone (for a depiction of the SAR covered by Salvamento Maritimo, see here.)
We immediately forward the position in an email and phone call to the Spanish authorities. We also inform MRCC Rabat who tells us that the National Marine will look for the boat.
Screenshot: windy.com
At the same time, the weather conditions are worsening. At midnight, the wind on the Atlantic is around 40km/h, waves are over 2m high.
At 21:03 CEST, we update our last tweet and emphasize that the people are still at sea, in need of urgent rescue: https://x.com/alarm_phone/status/1850251884675891604
At 22:17 CEST, MRCC Rabat confirms that they have been looking for the boat since morning.
On Sunday, 27th October, at 00:31 CEST, we again speak to the people on the boat, however the connection is too bad to obtain an updated GPS position.
At 00:56 CEST, MRCC Madrid tells us again that they cannot interfere or act, because MRCC Rabat is coordinating the rescue operation.
During the night, we also try to contact RCC Nouakchott, however it takes some hours until we finally find a number that is answered by an officer at 01:16 CEST, who is not at all aware of the case. We pass on the information, since we assume the boat might have drifted to Mauritanian waters (as the wind is blowing North to South).
At 02:10 CEST, we contact several merchant vessels in vicinity and all involved MRCCs.
At 02:34 CEST, MRCC Rabat tells us that they only have one asset capable of carrying out SAR missions and it cannot move to the area of the GPS position provided. This totally contradicts what they told us four hours earlier, namely that MRCC Rabat had been looking for the boat since morning.
At 02:44 CET, we speak again with the people on the boat who tell us that the situation has not changed.
At 03:48 CET, MRCC Rabat tells us again that their asset is involved in another special mission and cannot help the people on board. We remind the officer of the extreme danger that the people are exposed to.
At 06:31 CET, we write another email to all authorities involved, urging them to locate the satellite phone, to deploy all necessary resources to rescue the people and to send a « mayday relay » to all vessel so that all merchant vessel in the area can look for them and intervene.
At 07:06 CET, we again call MRCC Madrid. We inform them that MRCC Rabat seems incapable of carrying out a rescue operation and that weather conditions are extremely adverse. We request MRCC Madrid to locate the satellite phone in order to receive an updated GPS position.
Since no competent authority is willing to help, we contact a number of merchant vessels who are in the vicinity of the last GPS position we have. We talk to several insurance companies, but do not manage to obtain a direct contact to the bridge of one of the merchant vessels.
At 10:04 CET, we again speak to MRCC Madrid. They tell us that they cannot intervene as long as Rabat does not officially put in a request for assistance.
At 10:06 CET, we publish a third tweet, showing how dire the situation is because of adverse weather conditions: https://x.com/alarm_phone/status/1850464114574795066
At 10:29 CET, we again call Rabat and speak to an officer who seems completely lost. We demand MRCC Rabat to launch a rescue operation, to send out a mayday to all merchant vessels in the area by Inmarsat. We also demand Rabat to request assistance from MRCC Madrid.
At 11:32 CET, we speak with the operations centre in Nouakchott who takes all the information about the distress case.
At 14:17 CET, we speak again to MRCC Rabat who tells us that several merchant vessels are now charged with coming to the people’s aid.
Finally, at 15:59 CET, when we call MRCC Rabat, an officer tells us that two merchant vessels, the Star Istind (IMO 9182954) and the Laem Chabang Express (IMO 9768007), have visuals on our boat. There is no update as to how people are.
Throughout the day, we continue call the people on the boat, but no contact is possible.
We demand: immediate rescue of the people on board!
We denounce MRCC Rabat for providing false information,for a lack of capacities and willingness to help people who are at the mercy of the wind and waves in the Atlantic.
We denounce MRCC Madrid for non-assistance, despite having knowledge of the position and situation of the boat, and despite being well aware of the the incapacity of the allegedly responsible authority to carry out a rescue operation.
We urgently ask all authorities involved to come to the people’s aid! We demand safe passage and freedom of movement for all.
