Ignored mayday relay leads to illegal pullback

July 22, 2024  On Monday, we witnessed again an illegal interception of about 70 people, preceded by the repeated ignoring of the mayday relays.

 

About 70 people tried to flee Libya in hopes of reaching Europe. We knew about their possible position and called the nearby merchant vessel MARIDIVE 703, asking whether the crew overheard a mayday relay on channel 16, the Emergency Channel at sea. Their answer: “We have not heard the relay, because we are always on Channel 08, working channel.

 

But: Every actor at sea must monitor the emergency channel 16 and respond to mayday relays to fulfill their duty to rescue anyone in distress at sea.

After more than one day abandoned at sea and with upcoming bad weather, we found their boat in urgent distress, only about 10 (!) kilometers away from the MARIDIVE 703. We sent several mayday relays about the distress at sea, but the Crew of the merchant vessel ignored our emergency calls from then until today.

 

 

Soon after, the so-called Libyan coastguard appeared racing full speed toward the boat in distress with one goal: interception. About 70 people are now back in Libya – facing prison, torture, and death. Adding to the brutality, we witnessed the so-called

Libyan coastguard stealing the engine, once they pulled back the people on their ship – which was by the way one of the many boats gifted by Italy and the EU. Stealing the engine is a measure that we can often observe and that is part of the relentless cycle of exploiting people on the move. People flee, are pulled back, put in prison, buy their ‘freedom,’ and end up in the next boat with the same engine – and those responsible earn double and triple the money from this inhumane tactic.

Ignoring a mayday relay – an outright illegal act.
The interception by the so-called Libyan coastguard – an outright illegal act.