BOS TRITON

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25 migrants rescued off Libya, 61 presumed dead

A rubber boat left over 60 people presumed dead off the northern coast of Libya in the night of Dec 13, 2023. The overcrowded dinghy sank in rough seas after it left the Libyan coastal town of Zuwara. According to survivors, 86 people were believed to be on board the boat, including women and children, the majority of them from Sub-Saharan Africa. 25 survivors have been rescued and were sent back to the Tariq al Sekka detention centre in Libya. Alarm Phone was in contact with the boat for most of the incident, receiving the first distress call at 5 p.m. Alarm Phone sent multiple alerts to the Italian, Maltese and Libyan authorities, as well as the 'Sea-Eye 4', which was 12 hours away. An hour later, it managed to reach a Libyan officer who agreed to send a patrol boat which was, however, never sent because of bad weather, although at least two Libyan rescue boats were out at sea that day, intercepting at least three other boats. At 6 p.m., Alarm Phone received a final call from the boat which said, “We are losing our lives here!” At 9:40 pm, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome ordered the 'Vos Triton' to the boat in distress. The vessel was ill equipped to perform a rescue and later lost contact with the boat. The Libyan Coast Guard eventually told that 25 people had been rescued by the supply vessel. On Dec 14 it was reported that 61 people were missing. The Medecins Sans Frontieres-chartered 'Geo Barents' had been patrolling the area near the wreck just two days before. When it received the alerts from Alarm Phone, it was already en route to Genoa to disembark a number of castaways from another rescue.a.”

Vos Triton accused of illegal pushback

Humanitarian rescue organizations were accusing the 'Vos Triton' of participating in an illegal pushback to Libya, in which migrants rescued from a drifting boat were handed over to the Libyan Coast Guard. On June 14, the observation plane Seabird, operated by Sea-Watch, was monitoring a small wooden boat from which several migrants jumed over biard and started swimming in open waters towards the 'Vos Triton'. The crew of the 'Vos Triton' originally refused to render assistance to the more than 180 people on board the small wooden boat which was already adrift for some time because the engine was broken. After some people had reached the 'Vos Triton', they finally complied with international regulations and rescued the wooden boat and took all people on board. A Libyan Coast Guard vessel went alongside the 'Vos Triton' for the handover of the migrants to the Libyans for the pushback to Tripoli. As the rescue had taken place in international waters, this would be an illegal pushback. Report with photo: https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/32983/accusations-of-illegal-pushbacks-leveled-at-supply-ship-vos-triton-in-mediterranean

200 migrants in danger of being pushed back

On June 14, 2021, the 'Vos Triton' rescued 200 migrants at sea, who were now in danger of being pushed back to Libya. The rescue was carried out 11 hours after the distressed boat was reported to the authorities with an engine breakdown in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea. The ship was sailing southwards, planning to ddeliver the migrants to the so-called Libyan Coast Guard.