For 4 days, a group of 32 people who had set sail from Zuwara fought for their right to freedom of movement. After landing on a gas platform (in international waters and overlapping Maltese and Tunisian SAR zones) under Tunisian jurisdiction, they faced non-assistance and indifference from the states. On both sides of the Mediterranean, civil society mobilized to amplify the voices of the stranded people: several organizations joined forces to alert the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, while Tunisian civil society launched an appeal for the people to be immediately rescued and taken to a safe place. After four days of struggle, the people were rescued by Aurora, Sea Watch’s rescue boat. They agreed to be evacuated by crane from the platform only after receiving guarantees that they would not be returned to Libya or Tunisia. We celebrate their victory with them. Solidarity won!
1st of March
01:45 – Alarm Phone alerts the authorities about a boat in distress at sea in position N34 13 740 E011 56 708 (international waters, in the Tunisian and Libyan overlapping SAR zones). The boat carries 32 people. The people on the boat report that they have departed from Zuwara and that they are now adrift.
07:21 – The Italian authorities send an “Inmarsat” message to all ships informing them “on behalf of the Libyan Navy” about a boat adrift at sea.
09:00 – Alarm Phone receives the information from the Libyan coast guards that they have currently no vessel available to search for the boat in distress.
12:52 – Alarm Phone calls the Tunisian coast guards. They report that the boat in distress is under the Miskar oil platform but say they cannot launch a rescue operation at the time being as the weather is too bad.
14:53 – The civilian monitoring plane Seabird1 from Sea watch takes off from Lampedusa to check the situation of the survivors on the Miskar platform. On scene, they report the presence of a Frontex aircraft and the supply vessel MARIDIVE 518 in the vicinity. Seabird1 calls the platform, which says that 32 people are on the structure and that the Tunisian navy was planning to launch a rescue operation the day after.
Despite many attempts during the day, Alarm Phone does not manage to reach the people on the platform.
2nd of March
09:11 – Alarm Phone tweets about the situation of the stranded people:
11:20 – Alarm Phone is called by different survivors who report from the platform that they have not eaten for days and that one of the people died. The hotline is also called by different relatives, worried about the fate of their loved ones.
During the afternoon, Alarm Phone continues to receive calls from the people stuck on the platform. They report to be extremely tired. They are afraid to be returned to Tunisia or left to die on the platform. Coast guards remain irresponsive over the phone despite many calls.
19:25 – Tweet from Sea Watch
19:59 – Alarm Phone calls the Miskar platform. The person replies that the survivors are safe and were given food but that they are in bad condition. The workers on the platform do not have information about a potential rescue operation.
3rd of March
09:49 – Alarm Phone shares another tweet about the case:
13:08 – Sea Watch alerts authorities again about the situation of the people stranded on the platform after a monitoring flight of their aircraft, Seabird1. After calling the platform, the crew confirms that 32 people are still left without assistance.
18:08 – New tweet from Sea Watch
During the day, Alarmphone continues to receive calls from the people stranded on the platform desperately asking for help. The Tunisian authorities remain irresponsive. Videos taken from the platform by survivors start to be circulated on social media.
4th of March
10:39 – Mediterranea Saving Humans shares a tweet calling the European authorities to act
11:43 – Alarm phone sends another email to authorities to urge them to provide assistance.
11:47 – Sea Watch informs by email all relevant authorities about deployment of their rescue asset Aurora en route to the Miskar platform.
12:00 – Initiated by the Tunisian civil society, a statement is published to urge authorities to rescue the people
12:55 – The rescue ship Aurora approaches the area near the Miskar platform. The crew reports on scene a Tunisian Navy asset and the merchant vessel Maridive 703.
13:18 – Miskar establishes communication with Aurora while engaging in Arabic with the Tunisian Navy asset. It is communicated that the Tunisian authorities have undertaken coordination and are requesting the transhipment of the survivors from Maridive 703.
13:58 – The craning operation of rescued survivors from the Miskar platform to the Maridive 703 begins.
14:35 – Aurora confirms that they will proceed with the transshipment of the survivors from Maridive 703.
16:07 – All people are embarked on board Aurora
Earlier in the day, following an urgent request by UpRights, StraLi, and SOS Humanity, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has, for the first time, ordered Malta to take immediate action to fulfill its obligations under international law. The Committee instructed Malta to urgently coordinate a search and rescue operation for the survivors stranded on the Miskar gas platform (see article).
