OPERATION - 11-21 January 2020

06:30 Ocean Viking leaves the port of Termini Imerese (Sicily)

10:20 Ocean Viking stops in order to conduct drills at sea

From 10:20, in position 38°27,2’N 013°23,2’E, Ocean Viking (OV) stops to conduct drills. RHIB s are launched for rescue procedure exercises

Wind: S Beaufort  2/3

Sea state 2

At 17:15 drills are completed

09:30 Ocean Viking resumes navigation after drills at sea

From 09:30, in position 36°03,7’N 011°59,5’E, Ocean Viking (OV) stops to conduct drills. RHIB s are launched for rescue procedure exercises

Wind: SE Beaufort  4

Sea state 3

At 11:25 drills are completed

21:29 Ocean Viking sends a “notice of readiness for SAR operations” to Rescue Coordination Centers of Central Med

At 21:29 Ocean Viking sends a “notice of readiness for SAR operations” to the Libyan JRCC, copying Maltese MRCC, Italian MRCC and EUNAVFOR MED

12:00 Ocean Viking is patrolling, 32 nautical miles from the Libyan coast

Noon position: 33°19.4′N 012°40.1′E

Wind: NE Beaufort 4

Sea state 3

12:00 Ocean Viking is patrolling, 29 nautical miles from the Libyan coast

Noon position: 33°17.0′N 012°44.4′E

Wind: N Beaufort 4

Sea state 3/4

12:00 Ocean Viking is patrolling, 34 nautical miles from the Libyan coast

Noon position: 33°21.8′N 012°41.4′E

Wind: NW Beaufort 4

Sea state 4

15:00 Ocean Viking stops in order to conduct drills at sea

From 15:00, in position 33°21,3’N 012°23,5’E, Ocean Viking (OV) stops to conduct drills. RHIB s are launched for rescue procedure exercises

Wind: N Beaufort  3

Sea state 3

At 17:00 drills are completed

02:05 Ocean Viking receives an email from the Alert Phone informing about a boat in distress

Alarm Phone informs by email: “Dear Sirs and Madams, At 02:05 AM CET on January 17th, we had contact with a boat in distress. Number on board: +8821655544383 Their last-known position was 33° 23′ 562” N, 12° 42′ 1416” E (02:06 AM CET). The boat was blue wooden with approximately 35 people on board. 10 women, 5 children. They told us that water was coming in and they couldn’t move anymore. The engine is broken, they cannot move.”   Ocean Viking Position: 33° 27.2′ N 012° 32.1′ E

Ocean Viking alters Course accordingly

02:26 Ocean Viking receives an email from the Alarm Phone, updating the number of people on the boat

02:44 Ocean Viking receives an email from the Alarm Phone, updating the position of the boat in distress

02:46 Ocean Viking calls by phone to the 3 numbers of Libyan Join Rescue Coordination Center, but there was no answer

02:47 Ocean Viking sends an email to the Libyan Authorities reporting the Alarm Phone boat in distress

Ocean Viking email to the Libyan Join Rescue Coordination Center copy to Italian and Maltese Coordination Centers also, as well to EUNAVFORMED and Alarm Phone, reporting the email from Alarm Phone about the boat in distress

03:37 Ocean Viking spots the wooden boat in the water

Ocean Viking (in position 33° 23.3’N  012°43.4’E ) has visual contact with the wooden boat

03:39 Ocean Viking informs the Libyan Authorities had visual contact with the wooden boat

Ocean Viking email to the Libyan Join Rescue Coordination Center copy to Italian and Maltese Coordination Centers also, as well to EUNAVFORMED, informing that Ocean Viking had spotted a blue wooden boat and about the intention to launch the RHIBs and investigate.

Alert phase: apprehension exists as to
the safety of the boat and its occupants.

03:44 Ocean Viking launches her first RIHB

03:54 Ocean Viking first assessment: overcrowded, about 50 people, no lifejackets. The engine doesn’t work

Blue wooden boat is overcrowded, about 50 people on board, no lifejackets, all exposed to the elements and the engine doesn’t work.

distress phase: the boat and its occupants
are threatened by grave and imminent danger and require immediate assistance.

04:03 Life jackets distribution finished

04:06 Ocean Viking informs by email to the Libyan Authorities about the distress situation and that the occupants of the blue wooden boat will be transferred onto Ocean Viking

04:35 Transfer of people completed, 39 survivors on board.

On position 34°22.9’N 012°44.5’E, with 22 knots of wind and 2.5 mts of waves, Ocean Viking received last survivors from one of her RIHBs and the transfer of the 39 survivors is completed.

Latitude: 33.382
Longitude: 12.742

04:40 Wooden boat marked

Wooden boat in position 33°22.9’N – 012°44.7’E is marked “2020 01 17 OV” and left adrift

05:00 Rescue is completed with all her RHIB s on board Ocean Viking

06:05 Ocean Viking informs by email the Join Rescue Coordination Center of Tripoli (with ITMRCC, RCCMALTA, EUNAVFORMed and AlarmPhone in copy) about rescue completion.

07:56 Ocean Viking sends Maritime Incident Report and asks for Place of Safety

Ocean Viking emails to the Libyan Join Rescue Coordination Center copy to Italian and Maltese Coordination Centers also, as well to EUNAVFORMED sending the Maritime Incident Report and asking for Place of Safety. 39 survivors. 15 men, 5 women and 19 minors. Nationalities: Morocco, Bangladesh, Egypt and Somalia.  

10:49 Libyan Maritimes Authorities answer TRIPOLI (Libya) as Place Of Safety

13:41 Ocean Viking informs Libyan Maritimes Authorities that Tripoli (Libya) doesn’t meet the criteria for being designated as Place of Safety

“ […] under the International Convention on maritime search and rescue to which Libya is a state party, a rescue is only considered as completed once rescued people have been disembarked in a place of safety (As define in the Annex to the 1979 SAR Convention, paragraph 1.3.2 and in the International Maritime Organization 2004 Rescue Guidelines) It is within this framework that the European Commission and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees issued clear positions stating that currently Libya does not meet the criteria for being designated as a place of safety for the purpose of disembarkation following rescue at sea (https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b8d02314.html I understand that among the survivors on board there are people, including women and unaccompanied minors, who say that if returned to Libya, they would be in danger of being subjected to severe abuses. In light of this clear guidance and international law Provisions, we are not in a position to head towards a Libyan port, which cannot be considered as a place of safety for rescued people.

I respectfully request that, as the JRCC coordinating,
you please provide with the indication of a place of safety which fulfils all
requirements […]”

12:00 Ocean Viking is patrolling, 33 nautical miles from the Libyan coast

Noon position: 33°21.2′N 012°40.6′E

Wind: NW Beaufort 5

Sea state 3

14:38 Ocean Viking asks to Italian and Maltese Maritime Authorities for a Place of Safety

12:00 Ocean Viking is patrolling, 44 nautical miles from the Libyan coast

Noon position: 33°32.7′N 012°36.0′E

Wind: SW Beaufort 3/4

Sea state 3

12:00 Ocean Viking is in the Maltese channel, 17 nautical miles from the Italian coast

Noon position: 36°24.4′N 014°59.0′E

Wind: E Beaufort 5/6

Sea state 4

18:46 Italian MRCC indicates Pozzallo (Italy) as Place of Safety

Good evening Sir

“Be informed that Italian Ministry of Interior has assigned POZZALLO as destination harbor for your ship.[…]”

09:10 Ocean Viking arrives to Pozzallo Port

10:05 Disembarkation of all survivors is completed

The 39 survivors are on land

Latitude: 36.716
Longitude: 14.829