NOVEMBER 2023

3 November Ocean Viking assists a boat in distress in the Ionian Sea. During the night, 75 men, women & children are rescued from a sailing boat that departed from Izmir, Turkey. The MSF team rescues 29 men and one unaccompanied minor from a fiberglass boat in distress in the Libyan SAR zone. Bari is the place of safety assigned by the Italian authorities (1).
6 November In the early hours, Aurora rescues 56 people in distress & brings them safely on board after alert by Alarm Phone. One person receives medical care for severe dehydration. Despite tough weather conditions, the port of Pozzallo, ~330km from their location, is assigned.
9 November LifeSupport rescues 118 people in 2 operations in the Central Mediterranean in very rough seas and 2-meter-high waves after alert by Alarm Phone. Brindisi is assigned as a Place of safety (2).
11 November In the morning the MSF team rescues 81 persons, including 25 children, from a rubber boat in distress following an Alarm Phone alert and with the support of Colibri2. The Geo Barents performs a second rescue in coordination with the Italian MRCC of 81 people from an unseaworthy wooden boat spotted by Colibri2 in international waters off the Libyan coasts.
14 November During the night, Ocean Viking performs 2 rescues following Alarm Phone alerts in the Libyan SAR. The following day, another 61 are rescued from an unseaworthy wooden boat from international waters off Libya following mayday relay from a fishing vessel and with support of Colibri 2. Nadir finds an overcrowded boat with around 50 people. Due to rough seas, one person fell into the water, another jumped in after him. Both were able to get back into the boat.
15 November Nadir supports a boat with 50 people. Later they take another 39 people aboard from an iron boat that was in immediate risk of sinking & brings them to Lampedusa. All ~140 people rescued over the last day days arrive safely (3). Italian authorities detain Ocean Viking for 20 days and impose a 3,300€ fine after rescuing people in distress in the Libyan SRR.
17 November After an alert by Pilotes Volontaires, Nadir finds an iron boat, that was critically overcrowded. 2 people end up in the water and others have to be evacuated to prevent the boat from sinking and to distribute life jackets. All are rescued after stabilization. 
20 November Life Support rescues 21 shipwrecked people in international waters in the Libyan SAR. They were traveling on a small black dinghy, an unaccommpanied minor amongst them (4).
22 November Sea Watch, together with MSF, rescues a boat in distress with 57 people. They are all later safely disembarked in Ravenna.
30 November In the morning, the crew of Humanity 1 rescue 90 people from an overcrowded, unseaworthy rubber boat in international waters off the coast of Libya. Among them are around 30 unaccompanied minors, several women, and a baby. The distress case was reported by Alarm Phone (5). Aurora finds a wooden boat in distress with around 45 people on board. While the weather steadily worsened, the crew takes all guests safely aboard and reaches Lampedusa before midnight for disembarkation. In the late afternoon, Humanity 1 rescues another 40 people from an overcrowded, unstable wooden boat. The people had set off from Libya the night before and report massive violence by masked Libyan militias who attacked them with weapons before their escape. Crotone in southern Italy is assigned as POS.  

10-cmrcc-echoes-draft-1_page-0008-1-724x1024-9814805

ECHOES Issue 10, January 2024 – English