Call for Justice
On the 12th of November 2024, the non-governmental organisation Sea-Watch, together with three survivors and a relative of one of the victims, filed a complaint to the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Agrigento, trying to shed light on alleged institutional negligence in one of the recent and tragic shipwrecks happening at the doorstep of Fortress Europe. The event, which occurred between the 2nd and the 4th of September 2024, off the coast of Lampedusa, claimed the lives of 21 people, including three children. The criminal complaint seeks to provide evidence of the delays and failures in responding to distress alerts by the Italian and Maltese authorities and every other actor potentially involved.
A Foreseeable Tragedy
The distress case was first spotted on 2nd September 2024 by Seabird 2, an aircraft operated by Sea-Watch in partnership with the Humanitarian Pilots Initiative to monitor the human rights violations perpetrated daily in the Central Mediterranean Sea against those trying to reach the EU shore. The aircraft identified a critically distressed vessel carrying approximately 30 people aboard a small, overcrowded, unseaworthy boat lacking safety equipment. Despite three alerts sent to the Italian and Maltese authorities and an
additional mail from Alarm Phone, no action was taken until the 4th of September. The Italian Coast Guard rescued seven survivors from a partially submerged boat that day. The survivors recounted that they had departed Libya on the 1st of September and that 21 of the people who were on board drowned due to the boat’s precarious conditions and rough seas.
Evidence
The complaint is supported by aerial footage, technical analyses, survivors’ testimonies and a simulation by maritime experts, which underscore critical lapses in the rescue response. The study demonstrates that the vessel’s trajectory was well-documented and its distress undeniable. Indeed, the drift simulation conducted by Dr. Luca Kunz revealed that the boat had already entered the Italian Search and Rescue (SAR) zone by the 3rd of September, one day before any rescue operation was launched. Additionally, a technical assessment by Dr. Luca Viviani confirmed the match between the boat sighted by Seabird 2 and the one eventually rescued by the Coast Guard.
Furthermore, survivors identified themselves and the other people travelling with them in photos captured by Seabird 2, substantiating the link between the initial distress call and the delayed rescue.
Survivors’ accounts paint a harrowing picture: the vessel capsized multiple times due to waves, forcing the passengers to undertake desperate measures to stay afloat. The situation worsened overnight, with freezing conditions and the rough sea, which resulted in the loss of the lives of three children and numerous others.
Picture: Sea-Watch
A Pattern of Inaction
The complaint shows how Italian and Maltese authorities failed to respond to a distress situation, violating international maritime safety laws. Indeed, as the previous shipwrecks, such as, among too many others, the “Children’s Massacre” of 2013 and the Cutro shipwreck of 2023 demonstrate, this is a recurring and systematic pattern of institutional inertia leading to preventable deaths. The complaint calls for a thorough investigation to determine any criminal liability and to ensure better compliance with search and rescue obligations in the future.
A Call for Accountability
The competent authorities are now required to:
- Investigate the causes of the delay in rescue;
- Assess possible criminal liability for failure to rescue, namely negligent shipwreck (Article 449 of the Criminal Code), multiple manslaughter (Article 589 of the Criminal Code) and failure to assist;
- Ensure that such tragedies are not repeated by complying with international maritime rescue obligations.
The complaint represents a call for justice for the victims and their families. This foreseeable shipwreck raises once more crucial questions on managing the migration route of the Central Mediterranean Sea and the consequences of the EU externalisation policies on the lives of the people on the move. “Behind every number is a life that could have been saved”. As the Mediterranean continues to be the deadliest border to cross for people on the move, this complaint serves as a reminder of the human cost of failed governance and the urgent need for change.
Press release and testimonies:
https://sea-watch.org/en/sea-watch-files-charges-against-italian-authorities/
