20:00
Ocean Viking arrives in Syracuse for portcall.
OPERATION - 11 - 22 May 2024
May 11, 2024
May 19, 2024
07:30
Ocean Viking leaves Syracuse for training.
10:00
Rhibs are launched for drills.
11:30
Rhibs are recovered.
14:00
Rhibs are launched for more drills.
16:44
Rhibs are recovered.
22:25
Ocean Viking is in copy of an email from Alarm Phone alerting to a boat in distress about 80NM away.
22:49
Ocean Viking sends an email to Malta RCC with ITMRCC in copy informing about the distress situation and her ability to provide assistance.
May 20, 2024
04:12
Ocean Viking spots intermittent light matching with estimated position of the boat in distress.
“Dear Sirs, Madams,
Please be informed that at 02:40 Z Ocean Viking RHIBs assessed the situation: fiberglass boat is unseaworthy, inapt for navigation in high seas, overcrowded with about 35 people on board, including children, women, all exposed to the elements, no Life Saving Appliances available.
These people are requesting to be rescued.It is ascertained that the distress phase exists as the persons on board are threatened by grave and imminent danger of being lost and require immediate assistance.
This is a case of force majeure (ref. SOLAS Art. IV (b)) imposing to retrieve persons in danger of being lost at sea, as stipulated by the relevant International Maritime Conventions, therefore MV Ocean Viking will proceed to the assistance of these persons in distress, while keeping competent RCCs duly informed.”
Latitude: 36.1833333
Longitude: 16.75
Longitude: 16.75
05:02
Ocean Viking calls RCC Malta via Satphone to inform of the rescue operation. Duty officer requested for an email to be sent.
05:12
Ocean Viking sends an email to ITMRCC and Malta RCC to inform about the rescue operation.
05:48
Italian authorities assign Ortona as a Place of Safety for the 35 survivors onboard Ocean Viking.
May 22, 2024
17:57
Ocean Viking arrives in Ortona.
18:52
The disembarkation of 35 survivors starts.
19:55
The disembarkation is complete.
May 23, 2024
17:06
Ocean Viking leaves Ortona and is heading to Syracuse.
SRR
Search and Rescue Region
At the bottom of the chart, in light green, the Libyan SRR, above that, in ...
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a last resort intervention, for when a person is not breathing. It ...
PSC
PSC (Port State Control) is an inspection regime for countries to inspect foreign-registered ships i...
EGC
Enhanced Group Call :
Excerpt from the GMDSS Manual:
3.7.9 The EGC system, which was developed by In...
PoS
Place of Safety :
Location where rescue operations are considered to terminate. It is also a place w...
Tug
A small vessel designed to tow or push large ships or barges. Tugs have powerful diesel engines and ...
RCC
Rescue Coordination Center
A unit responsible forpromoting efficient organization of SAR services a...
SRU
Search and Rescue Unit :
A unit composed of trainedpersonnel and provided with equipment suitable ...
SMC
SAR Mission Coordinator
The official temporarilyassigned to coordinate response to an actual or appa...
OSC
On-Scene Coordinator:
A person designated to co-ordinate SAR operations within a specified area.
If...IOM
International Organisation for Migration :
Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmenta...
IMO
International Maritime Organisation :
United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the ...
AFM
Armed Force of Malta :
Maltese maritime authority, in charge of the Maltese SAR Service.
https://afm...
MCP
Mass Casualty Plan :
A situation where there is more than 1 unconscious person to resuscitate. In th...
VHF
Very High Frequency :
ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio ...
RIB
Rigid Inflatable Boat :
Boat with rigid hull and inflatable tubes around the hull, generally with ou...
GPS
Global Positioning System
A specific satellite-based radio navigation system in conjunction with mob...
VTS
Vessel Traffic Service :
VTS are shore-side systems which range from the provision of simple inform...
SAR
Search And Rescue :
Search: An operation, normally co-ordinated by a rescue coordination center or r...
MRO
Mass Rescue Operation :
A mass rescue operation (MRO) is one that involves the need for immediate ...
AIS
Automatic Identification System :
The AIS is a maritime transponder, used in VHF frequency for ident...
GACS
The General Administration for Costal Security (GACS) is a Law Enforcement entity established within...
FPSO
FPSO: A floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit is a floating vessel used by the o...
SSAS
Ship Security Alert System :
Excerpt from the GMDSS Manual :
3.9.1 […] The SSAS is fitted to a ship ...
MMSI
Maritime Mobile Service Identity number :
All vessels operating on the high seas require a Maritime...
RHIB
Rigid-Hulled Inflatable Boat :
Boat with rigid hull and inflatable tubes around the hull, generally ...
MRCC
Maritime Rescue Coordination Center
An RCC dealing with maritime SAR incidents.
LNCG
Libyan Navy & Coast Guards
Libyan maritime authority, responsible for the Libyan SAR Service accordi...
ITCG
Italian Coast Guards :
Italian maritime authority, responsible for the Italian SAR Service
http://ww...
cable
cable: A cable length or length of cable is a nautical unit of measure equal to one tenth of a nauti...
GISIS
Global Integrated Shipping Information System
https://gisis.imo.org
Website of the International Mar...
Pilot
The vessel’s navigator. An especially knowledgeable person qualified to navigate a vessel through di...
SOLAS
Safety Of Life At Sea
The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most...
GMDSS
Global Maritime Distress and Safety System:
A global communications service based upon automated sy...
Radar
Detection system that uses radio waves to determine the range, angle, or velocity of objects. It can...
ECDIS
Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems :
Ships have long been required to carry nautical ...
UNCLOS
= United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
The UNCLOS was adopted on 10th December ...
Easy 1
One of the rescue RHIB onboard MV Ocean Viking with a capacity of 20 to 25 people, twin 115 horsepow...
Easy 2
One of the rescue RHIB onboard Ocean Viking with a capacity of 15 to 20 people, 175 horsepower engin...
Banana
Emergency floating device for critical rescue operation. The Banana is an inflatable tube of 16 mete...
SITREP
Situation Report :
It gives information about on-scene mission progress and conditions. SITREPs are ...
NAVTEX
NAVTEX provides shipping with navigational and meteorological warnings, meteorological forecasts and...
Target
Object in the water surface or in the radar screen. Onboard the Ocean Viking, the SAR Team calls any...
IAMSAR
International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue :
IMO guidelines for a common aviation an...
Anchor
An object designed to prevent or slow the drift of a ship, attached to the ship by a line or chain; ...
medevac
Medical Evacuation: Life-saving technique based on timely transport and en route medical care of inj...
Frontex
European Border and Coast Guard Agency. The aim of this EU agency is to “help EU countries and Schen...
Colibri
Colibri is an airplane (MCR 4s) operated by the association Pilotes Volontaires. Its mission is to “...
Shelter
Area at sea protected from the weather to leeward from the coast line
Charter
Contract between the shipowner/shipmanager and the company in charge of the operations. SOS MEDITTER...
Beaufort
The Beaufort scale is a scale for measuring wind speed.
See below the scale.
Baseline
Line from which is measured the extent of States’ maritime entitlements.
Moonbird
Airplane conducting a civil aerial reconnaissance mission, run together by Sea-Watch and the Humanit...
Resupply
Action to provide with a fresh supply of food and non-food items.
SAR Case
Reference number of the SAR operation designated by the RCC in charge. There is one SAR Case number ...
Inmarsat
A system of geostationary satellites for world-wide mobile communications services and which support...
distress
A situation wherein there is reasonable certainty that a vessel or other craft, including an aircraf...
rotation
The Ocean Viking makes regular stops in port to refuel, to change the crew, for the maintenance of t...
SAR Team
Team composed by 9 professional seafarers and rescuers, part of SOS MEDITERRANEE. They are in charge...
Underway
A ship is underway when she is in movement towards a direction/destination or drifting. A ship is no...
Liferaft
A liferaft is a self- inflatable emergency evacuation device. It is usually used by ships in case th...
Open Arms
MV Open Arms (IMO: 7325887, MMSI 224772000) of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms. Spanish flag. l...
Paris MoU
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control is the official document in which ...
SAR State
State which is responsible for the search and rescue of persons using its services and equipment wit...
survivors
Offical term to designate the people rescued from a distress situation.
Sea state
General condition of the surface of the open sea. The state of the sea is described using the Dougla...
Freeboard
Height between the water surface and the main deck of the ship.
SafetyNET
Communications service provided via Inmarsat forpromulgation of MSI, including shore to ship relays ...
Main deck
Deck in the aft part of the ship, where are the reception facilities for survivors and where Easy 2 ...
Alan Kurdi
MV Alan Kurdi (IMO: 5285667, MMSI: 211215130) of the German NGO Sea-Eye. German flag. Length 39m, wi...
Channel 16
Marine VHF radio frequency designated as an international distress frequency.
Flag state
The flag state of a merchant vessel is the jurisdiction under whose laws the vessel is registered or...
Patrolling
Situation when the Ocean Viking is standing-by or/and moving at slow speed in an area where distress...
evacuation
Situation where the SAR Team transfer people from the boat in distress, from the water or from the a...
Provisions
Food and non-food items necessary for the crew to live in autonomy for several days and weeks onboar...
lifejacket
Individual floating device which keep the body floating and the head out of the water. This can be a...
Sea-Watch 3
MV Sea-Watch 3 (IMO: 7302225, MMSI: 211281610) of the German NGO Sea-Watch. German Flag. Length 50m,...
Alarm Phone
Alarm Phone is part of Watch The Med project (http://www.watchthemed.net) and is an ‘alarm’ phone nu...
Alert phase
A situation wherein apprehension exists as to the safety of an aircraft or marine vessel and of the ...
rescue raft
Inflatable raft used by the SAR Team as emergency floating device during critical rescue operations.
...Port agency
Ships and the ship’s captain approach a port agency to make sure that proper mooring areas are allot...
Main deck
Deck in the aft part of the ship, where the reception facilities for survivors are.
EUNAVFOR MED
European military operation, also called “operation Sophia”, launched in May 2015 and deployed in th...
Boat-landing
The boat landing is a special ladder surrounded by 2 pillars which allow the RHIB to transfer people...
Coastal State
State that has sovereignty over specific territorial waters as well as sovereign rights in the conti...
Transshipment
Operation of transferring people or material from a ship to another.
SAR Convention
= International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR or Hamburg Convention)
It was adopted ...
Bouri oilfield
The Bouri field lies in water depths between 145m and 183m, offshore the Libyan coast, in the Medite...
Port Authority
A government body (city, county or state) which in international shipping maintains various airports...
Contiguous zone
Area in which a coastal state may prevent and punish infringements of its laws and regulations with ...
Emergency phase
A generic term meaning, as the case may be, uncertainty phase, alert phase or distress phase.
place of safety
Location where rescue operations are considered to terminate. It is also a place where the survivors...
critical rescue
Situation where the people in distress are in an unstable condition and the SAR Team has to deploy a...
Global SAR Plan
A global SAR plan has been developed, defining detailed responsibilities for each member nation and ...
Place of refuge
Place of refuge means a place where a ship in need of assistance can take action to enable it to sta...
SAR Coordinator
Person in charge of the management of the mission for SOS MEDITERRANEE. This person is regularly on ...
innocent passage
As indicated under article 19 of the Montego Bay Convention, a “passage is innocent so long as it is...
SOLAS Convention
= International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS or London Convention)
This text was ...
Operation Themis
Frontex (EU Border and Coast Guard Agency) operation launched in February 2018 to “assist Italy in b...
Jasmund Shipping
Shipping company in charge of the management of Aquarius, including the certification of the ship, p...
Uncertainty phase
A situation wherein doubt exists as to the safety of an aircraft or a marine vessel, and of the per...
Port State Control
Port State Control (PSC) is an inspection regime for countries to inspect foreign-registered ships i...
non-discrimination
Parties shall ensure that assistance be provided to any person in distress at sea. They shall do so ...
Libyan Coast Guard
LNCG
Libyan maritime authority, responsible for the Libyan SAR Service according to the Global SAR P...
Time charter party
A time charter – is a contract for the hire of a named vessel for a specified period of time. – may ...
Search Action Plan
Message, normally developed by the SMC forpassing instructions to SAR facilities and agencies partic...
Rescue Action Plan
A plan for rescue operations normally preparedby the SMC for implementation by OSC and facilities on...
territorial waters
Belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles from the baseline (usually the mean low-w...
Circomare Lampedusa
“Circomare Guardia Costiera Lampedusa” is the Italian Coast Guard based in Lampedusa
Project Coordinator
Person in charge of the management of the mission for MSF.
International waters
Any body of water situated beyond 12 nautical miles from the baseline – outside the territorial wate...
Operation Mare Sicuro
Aerial maritime operation launched in March 2015 by Italy’s Ministry of Defense, to “ensure maritime...
transfer / transhipment
Transfer of rescued people between two ships. This can be done by RIBs, or alongside.
Communication Officer
The person in charge of communication onboard the Ocean Viking serves a crucial role in managing med...
Offshore Supply Vessel
OSV
These are cargo vessels that regularly transport goods, supplies or equipment in support of expl...
Deputy SAR Coordinator
Person in charge of the management of the SAR Team of SOS MEDITERRANEE. This person manages the trai...
Expanding square search
A search pattern used when the last known position of a search object has a high degree of accuracy,...
Search and Rescue Region
An area of defined dimensions, associated with aRCC, within which SAR services are provided.
Research & Evidence Officer
Person in charge of the collection, treatment, archiving and publication of all the information rela...
Exclusive Economic Zone (EZZ)
Area where the coastal State has exclusive rights over the natural resources. However the State must...
Paris Memorandum of Understanding
The Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control is the official document in which ...