Who receives calls for rescue in the central Mediterranean? Who decides which units should intervene? Who decides the ports of landing? Here is a summary of how Italy's Search and Rescue (SAR) system works in the area off the coast of Libya.
Rescue coordination is handled by the Italian Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Rome. Its operations centre is located in the headquarters of the Infrastructure Ministry in Rome's EUR district.
When a call is received to rescue a boat at sea, this unites where the decision is made about which units will intervene.
In 2016, MRCC coordinated 1,424 SAR operations, an increase of 52 percent from 2015 when there were 906 operations. Overall, 178,415 people have been rescued: 46,796 by NGOs, 35,876 by the Italian Coast Guard, 36,084 by the Italian Navy, 22,885 by units in the European rescue mission EU Navfor Med, 13,616 by EU border agency Frontex, and 13,888 by merchant ships.
The most difficult period last year was between August 28 and 31. Over those four days, MRCC coordinated 112 operations, in which 13,762 people were rescued.
Initiating a rescue operation
A call for help can come from migrants, if they have a satellite phone, or from traffickers themselves in patrols off the coasts of Libya. In 2016, NGO ships determined that 30.3 percent of migrant boats set out with satellite phones aboard. Calls can also come in from merchant ships, recreational craft, tugboats in transit, or family members contacted by migrants aboard a boat.
Usually those who depart on migrant boats have phone numbers for various port authorities in Sicily, who in turn forward the calls to the Rome operations centre. Once the call for rescue comes in, the operations centre collects information, using an interpreter if necessary and records the location of the boat or rubber dinghy, its condition, health conditions of those aboard and weather conditions.
At that point, the situation is declared a "SAR event" and its handling is delegated to the unit in the area that's most appropriate to the situation. Oftentimes, the operations centre will divert a rescue call to a merchant ship transiting in the emergency area, which is required by international treaties to respond to the call for rescue.
Initial checks and permission to dock
Once the migrants are aboard the rescue ship, the second phase of rescue begins. The rescued men, women, and children are given basic necessities, thermal blankets, and sometimes even dry clothing. Many of the ships have medical teams on board who conduct an initial health and safety screening.
On Italian Coast Guard and military ships, an initial screening is also performed to try to determine if there re any traffickers among the passengers. Once the "SAR event" is over, the Italian Coast Guard operations centre tells the ship the port at which it is to dock. The choice of port is made by the Italian Interior Ministry, which is responsible for handling the distribution of migrants arriving on Italian soil.