VZCZCXRO7932
OO RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN
DE RUEHTRO #0273/01 0921636
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O R 021636Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4677
INFO RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0800
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1446
RUEHVT/AMEMBASSY VALLETTA 0409
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0510
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1038
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0724
RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0013
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0003
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0003
RHMFISS/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 0079
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 5204

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TRIPOLI 000273 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/MAG AND S-ES/O 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL:  3/31/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM PREF MARR SMIG KTIP EWWT LY
SUBJECT: NEARLY 400 RESCUED BUT 200 MISSING AT SEA IN MIGRANT SMUGGLING TRAGEDY REF: A. ROME 205 B. TRIPOLI 212 C. VALLETTA 143 TRIPOLI 00000273 001.2 OF 002 CLASSIFIED BY: Gene Cretz, Ambassador. REASON: 1.4 (b), (d)

1.(C) Summary: Rescuers have saved nearly 400 migrants from disabled and capsized vessels off Libya's coast, although over 20 bodies have been recovered and another 100-200 people are feared lost at sea. According to the Italian Embassy, Italian authorities received the distress call on March 29. Despite arrangements outlined in Search and Rescue Agreements with both Italy and Malta, Libyan officials did not immediately respond. The boats were disabled near the Bouri offshore drilling platforms, equipped with supply ships that were pressed into service to rescue victims in the water and tow a disabled vessel to Tripoli harbor. Survivors are being held in two immigrant detention centers and a Libyan NGO is providing humanitarian assistance. The Government of Libya (GOL) has begun to contact embassies and international organizations to identify and repatriate the rescued migrants. End Summary.

ONE SHIP CAPSIZED, ONE DISABLED BUT UPRIGHT

2.(C) The latest tragedy to befall migrants attempting the maritime crossing from Libya to European shores began to unfold in the early hours of March 29, according to contacts at the Italian embassy. Italian officials received a distress call from a disabled ship near the ENI-operated Bouri oil platform (roughly north of Zwara, Libya). After determining that the ship was in Libyan waters, Italy attempted to notify the Libyan Coast Guard following protocols set by the two nations in a recent "friendship treaty" (ref A). Unable to make direct contact, Rome then alerted its embassy in Tripoli, which in turn notified counterparts within the GOL. Italian diplomats here characterized Libya's initial response as sluggish, but noted that a small Libyan patrol boat made contact with a disabled ship carrying a reported 356 individuals. Unable to take the migrants aboard or tow them to safety, the Libyans pressed an Italian ship - contracted by ENI to supply its offshore platform - into service to tug the seaworthy but unpowered vessel to Tripoli. In the course of that rescue, victims of another vessel carrying migrants were found in the water. Twenty-three migrants were rescued from the water and another 20 drowned bodies were recovered from the wreckage, but witnesses from among the rescued put the original manifest at 257.

3.(C) BBC News reported that Libyan officials have called off the search for survivors. The Italian embassy reported that two additional boats may have set off with the two stricken vessels. The GOL claims two ships are "legitimate fishing vessels" not carrying migrants, but concedes that they have no contact with either boat leading some to speculate the death count may be higher still. Television pictures emerging showed the towed vessel's return to Tripoli harbor. The daily Oyea newspaper reported that as many as 250 migrants may be declared lost at sea.

4.(C) According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the 356 rescued from the disabled ship have been sent to two detention centers approximately 50km west of Tripoli. The International Organization for Peace, Care, and Relief (IOPCR) - a quasi-NGO facilitating both IOM and UNHCR's work in Libya - is reportedly providing humanitarian assistance, including food, blankets, and mattresses. Rescued nationalities include Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Eritrean, Somali, Syrian, Ghanaian, and Egyptian. The GOL has contacted consular officials of the nationals rescued to begin the process of identifying and potentially repatriating victims to their countries of origin. IOM expects to play a significant role in the repatriation efforts.

LIBYA RESPONSIVE TO ITALIAN REQUESTS, THOUGH OUTSIDE OF AGREED PROTOCOLS

5.(C) These tragic deaths and dramatic rescue come within weeks of two Search and Rescue (SAR) agreements Libya has signed with European neighbors. The Libyan-Italian "friendship treaty" included language calling on Libya to implement earlier agreements to conduct joint patrols and respond to Italian notifications of both imperiled and unidentified migrants within TRIPOLI 00000273 002.2 OF 002 Libyan territorial waters (ref B). The Maltese Ambassador in Tripoli, whose government signed an MOU with Libya on March 18 outlining each country's SAR responsibilities (ref C), has previously complained to us that that the Libyan operations center responsible for managing response to maritime search, rescue, and interdiction would not answer the phone or respond to fax requests - even when the EU provided satellite tracking data. After a delay signing the MOU last October, the exasperated Maltese Ambassador told Poloff that the agreement called for little more than a pledge from Libya "to pick up the phone". The Italian Embassy reported similar lack of responsiveness in this case, which eventually improved after Embassy prodding.

RESCUE HIGHLIGHTS SHIFTING TREND IN MIGRATION PATTERNS, LITTLE SLOWDOWN DUE TO EU ECONOMY

6.(C) Comment: Photographs of the disabled vessel towed into harbor show that it was heavily laden with passengers. The recent trend here has been toward smaller, faster boats that attempt to slip through EU patrols and land migrants at Lampedusa or Malta. With larger vessels, smugglers hope only to get to EU waters, where they then disable the boat's engine and call in the SOS via satellite phone to the Italian or Maltese authorities - an approach that observers say puts lives at greater risk if conditions turn against a stranded ship. It is unclear why one of the boats capsized; an Italian military attache' described calm seas near the site of the rescue on March 29 and 30. While precise numbers are unavailable, migration experts here see a recent uptick in the number of migrants attempting the perilous trip to Europe despite the slowdown in the EU economy. An IOM project manager speculated that the weaker economy actually made transit less expensive for migrants as smugglers were willing to take lower fees due to the recession. End Comment. CRETZ