Between March 28 and April 5, no fewer than five boats sank in the Mediterranean, carrying migrants trying to reach Greece or Italy. At least 180 people died trying to reach Europe in just over a week. What are Europeans’ responsibilities in this regard?
Léa Marchal
Production: By Europod, in co-production with Sphera Network.
EUobserver is proud to have an editorial partnership with Europod to co-publish the podcast series “Briefed” hosted by Léa Marchal. The podcast is available on all major platforms.
In only nine days, between 28 March and 5 April, five boats sank in the Mediterranean. They were carrying people hoping to cross the sea and reach Europe.
At least 180 people died in these shipwrecks. This marks the deadliest start to a year in the Mediterranean in more than a decade.
What is the EU doing to stop this tragedy?
Last Saturday, a small boat with 105 people on board left Libya and headed for Europe. But the weather was bad, and the fragile vessel took on water before overturning.
The rescue plane “Seabird 2” from the NGO Sea-Watch saw the sinking boat and raised the alarm. Thanks to a merchant vessel and a tugboat, 32 passengers arrived alive in Italy.
But more than 70 went missing in the Mediterranean.
This story, reported by the Spanish outlet El Salto, a member of the Sphera Network alongside Europod, sounds sadly familiar.
Following this fifth shipwreck on April 5, both NGOs and the International Organization for Migration sounded the alarm. Since the beginning of the year, at least 990 deaths have been recorded. The first three months of 2026 mark one of the deadliest starts to a year since 2014, according to the UN’s migration agency.
And this time, organisations are partly blaming the European Union for this tragic series of events.
“This shipwreck could have been prevented if the EU Commission had created a search and rescue program,” Sea-Watch wrote on X on April 5. According to Mediterranea Saving Humans, this is also the result of political decisions that prevent safe routes of access and fail to ensure prompt assistance.
The director general of the International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope, echoed this call: “We must act now to expand safe and regular routes and ensure people in need can be reached and protected, regardless of their status.”
What are responsibilities in this regard?
Governments and shipmasters are obliged, under international law, to assist people and vessels in distress at sea.
For now, member states along the Mediterranean are responsible for coordinating search and rescue operations within their so-called “SAR” zones.
In concrete terms, they are required to receive and acknowledge distress calls, relay them, and coordinate or conduct search and rescue operations.
However, they are not required to carry out proactive searches within their zones as a precaution.
In addition, there is no common European framework, apart from operations led by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex.
So what exactly is it doing?
Frontex and its 2,000 agents are in charge of controlling the EU’s borders, which includes rescuing migrants in distress. But the agency’s main focus is on countering migration flows and smugglers.
When it comes to actively searching for boats in distress, Frontex believes this can encourage smuggling activities. In a 2017 report, the agency wrote that “border surveillance and search and rescue missions close to, or within, the 12-mile territorial waters of Libya […] influence smugglers’ planning and act as a pull factor.”
Is there any change in sight?
Probably not.
In July 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for “more active and coordinated search and rescue operations” and for “member states and Frontex to provide sufficient capacity in terms of vessels, equipment and personnel.” They argued this would prevent exiles from remaining stranded on boats for days or even weeks.
But not much has changed since then. The resolution was non-binding, and in response, the former EU commissioner for home affairs, Ylva Johansson, reminded MEPs that search and rescue operations fall within national jurisdiction.
On the contrary, EU migration policies are tightening at high speed. In previous episodes of Briefed, we described the EU’s latest decisions to deport migrants.
NGOs fear this will not stop people from attempting the crossing, even at the cost of their lives.
And with that, we wrap up this last episode of the week.
