More than 2,200 people died in Mediterranean in 2024, UN finds

A rescue boat assists migrants in international waters south of the island of Lampedusa, Italy, in August 2024. 

Photograph: Juan Medina/Reuters

From The Guardian by Angela Giuffrida

 
Figure includes hundreds of children, who make up one in five migrants trying to reach Europe fleeing war and poverty

More than 2,200 people either died or went missing in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe in search of refuge in 2024.

The figure, cited in a statement from Regina De Dominicis, the regional director for Europe and central Asia for the UN’s children’s agency, Unicef, was eclipsed on New Year’s Eve when 20 people fell into the sea and were reported missing after a boat started to take in water in rough seas about 20 miles off the coast of Libya.

 

Some of the 59 people rescued in the waters of El Hierro on 2 January 2025.
Photograph: Gelmert Finol/EPA

 

Despite the waves, seven people, including an eight-year-old Syrian boy, managed to continue the journey on the tilting vessel before being found by an Italian police patrol boat on Tuesday night close to the southern island of Lampedusa.

The 6-metre boat had left Zuwara in Libya at 10pm on Monday and started to take in water about five hours later, creating panic and causing 20 passengers to fall overboard, according to witness statements provided by the six adult survivors.

In a separate incident on Monday, two people, including a five-year-old child, died and 17 survived after the vessel they were on broke down off the northern Tunisian coastline during an attempt to reach Europe.

De Dominicis said: “The death toll and number of missing persons in the Mediterranean in 2024 have now surpassed 2,200, with nearly 1,700 lives lost on the central Mediterranean route alone.

“This includes hundreds of children, who make up one in five of all people migrating through the Mediterranean. The majority are fleeing violent conflict and poverty.”

In December, an 11-year-old girl, wearing a simple life vest and clinging to a pair of tyre tubes, was rescued off Lampedusa.

She told rescuers she had spent three days at sea after a shipwreck that is presumed to have killed 40 people.

A month earlier the German NGO Sea-Watch filed a criminal complaint to prosecutors in Sicily accusing the Italian coastguard of negligence and multiple manslaughter over a shipwreck off Lampedusa that killed 21 people.

The NGO said it had notified the Italian authorities of the boat in distress on 2 September, but alleged that the coastguard did not dispatch a rescue vessel until two days later.

At least four boats have capsized in the central Mediterranean since Tuesday, according to Alarm Phone, an organisation that runs a hotline for people in distress at sea.

Italy is one of the main landing points for people trying to reach Europe, with the central Mediterranean route considered one of the world’s most dangerous.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration has registered at least 25,500 deaths and disappearances during the Mediterranean crossing since 2014.

Most of the deaths or disappearances are attributed to boats departing from either Tunisia or Libya.

People still attempt the high-risk journey despite deals struck between Italy and the EU with Tunisia and Libya to stop migrant boats from leaving.

According to the Italian interior ministry, 66,317 people managed to reach Italy in 2024, less than half the number in 2023.

The hardline policies of Giorgia Meloni’s government are at least partly credited for the decrease.

The deal with Libya essentially pushes people back to detention camps where they face torture and other abuses.

Shocking abuse against migrants in Tunisia was reported by the Guardian in September.

A €670m (£556m) deal to transport 3,000 people intercepted in Italian seas each month to Albania, where they would have their asylum claims processed, came into force in October and is also supposed to act as a deterrent.

But the plan has so far been unsuccessful due to legal issues.

Links :

• The Guardian : Number of migrants arriving in Canary Islands by sea set new record in 2024
• Inkl : Deadly New Year for migrants as Tunisian shipwreck claims 27 lives / Twenty missing after falling from boat in rough seas off Libya’s coast
• Punching : 27 African migrants die, 83 rescued in Tunisia shipwrecks 

China unveils monster explorer ship with 17,261-mile-range, ice breaking power

China unveils monster explorer ship with 17,261-mile-range, ice breaking power 

China has taken a major leap in deep-sea science and technology with the commissioning of Tansuo 3, its first homegrown multifunctional scientific exploration and cultural relics archaeological ship, commissioned in Hainan Province.

 

From MSN by Christopher McFadden

China’s first-ever, domestically developed deep-sea multi-functional exploration ship has officially entered service.

Called the Tansuo-3 (Exploration-3), the ship has now been commissioned in Sanya City in south China’s tropical island province of Hainan.

She joins China’s existing fleet of other icebreaker ships, including the Xuelong, Xuelong 2, and Jidi, belonging to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The announcement came on Sunday (Dec 29), and the ship will begin conducting deep-sea research missions in the first half of 2025.

This news now significantly expands China’s manned submersible exploration capabilities. 

 

The ship will now be operated by its new owner, the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering. According to state news sources, she was jointly designed by researchers from the Sanya Institute, China State Shipbuilding Corp’s Guangzhou Shipyard International Co., and other research entities.
Tansuo-3 is now ready for service

“More than 100 domestic institutes, universities, and enterprises participated in the ship’s research, development, and construction. Designers and engineers developed a lot of new technologies and equipment through the project, according to the Sanya Institute,” the People’s Republic of China State Council said in a press release.

Construction began on the Tansuo-3 in June of 2023 at the Guangzhou shipyard, and the main body was completed in April.

She also completed an eight-day sea trial in late October and returned to her shipyard for final fit-out.

According to reports, the ship will carry a full-ocean-depth Human Occupied Vehicle (HOV) known as Shenhai Yongshi (Deep Sea Warrior) for regular scientific research operations.

This will also enable the Tansuo-3 to conduct deep-sea trials and archaeological studies in the South China Sea and beyond.

The ship also has world-class scientific equipment, such as advanced deep-sea sonar and release systems for crewed and robotic submersibles.

She also carries equipment to perform underwater excavations and recovery.

According to other reports, the ship is hoped to commence manned deep-sea submersible operations in abyssal oceans in the second half of 2025.

The ship is also theoretically capable of deep-sea exploration in various environments, including polar regions, thanks to its for and aft icebreaker features.

 

China unveils monster explorer ship with 17,261-mile-range, ice breaking power

Boosting China’s deep-sea exploration capabilities

The Tansuo-3 measures 104 meters long and has a displacement of 10,000 tons.

She was independently designed and built exclusively using Chinese contractors.

The vessel can reach a top speed of 16 knots (30 kilometers per hour) and has a designed range of 15,000 nautical miles (around 27,780 kilometers).

She has a crew capacity of around 80.

The Tansuo-3 also features a 6-meter by 4.8-meter moon pool (opening at the base of the hull) to ensure scientific exploration operations on floating ice and under challenging maritime conditions.

“The new ship’s deployment is expected to improve the country’s deep-sea scientific exploration efforts, helping scientists better understand the deep-sea ecosystem, geological structures, and distribution of marine resources, according to researchers,” the People’s Republic of China State Council added.

Tansuo-3’s commissioning marks a significant breakthrough in China’s autonomy in developing key core technologies, featuring not only domestically developed equipment but also independently developed key control systems.

 

Links :

• Interesting Engineering : China unveils monster explorer ship with 17,261-mile-range, ice breaking power

Rainbow meeting in the Vendee Globe

Le Grand Sud welcomes you!
Don't be fooled by this beautiful rainbow, from now on the elements will become more hostile and the race more complex.
Guirec Soudee has been waiting for this moment since March 2018.

Back then, he had turned back with Monique aboard Yvinec 1, which wasn't a boat cut out for these conditions.
At the time, he promised himself he would return one day with a boat capable of tackling these Dantean seas.

Today, with the IMOCA Freelance.com, he has done just that, and Guirec is grateful for every moment of it.

 

Guirec is the second fastest dinghy over the last 24 hours (16 knots average speed), just behind King Jean, despite very heavy seas.
He will now have to circumnavigate the Antarctic continent without ever entering the ZEA (Antarctic Exclusion Zone) defined by Vendée Globe race management.
This high-risk ice zone is forbidden on pain of penalties.
In view of the depressions that will now follow one another, the expression “safety first” is the order of the day.
Go Guirec Go!
To find out more about the 40th and 50th, download the Guirec educational kit

 

A perfect rainbow in the South Seas with Thomas Ruyant  (Dec 7th 2024)

Links :

 

Mapfre in the Volvo ocean

 

Dongfeng (Charles Caudrelier) in the Volvo Ocean (photo Jeremy Lecaudey)

Jules Verne trophee : Sodebo Ultim in the Indian Ocean

Jules Verne trophee : Sodebo Ultim 3 filmed by drone by Thomas Coville skipper

currently in the Indian Ocean

 

 

Arcona yacht sinking: couple share how they tried to save their boat after the rudder stock broke

The Swedish-flagged Arcona 460 yacht IdaLina has sunk in the Pacific Ocean.

The disaster occurred when the rudder stock, a crucial part of the boat, failed, punching a large hole in the hull.

 

From Pratical Boat Owners by Kety Stickland

 

Ingmar and Katarina Ravudd tell PBO about the steps they took to save their Arcona yacht after a broken rudder stock punched a hole in the hull, causing the boat to sink

 

Ingmar and Katarina Ravudd were sailing their Arcona yacht, IdaLina from Panama to French Polynesia when a loud bang indicated that not all was well on board.

 

Without warning, the aluminium rudder stock on the Arcona 460 broke; the boat was 200 miles from making landfall in Marquesas, French Polynesia.

 

The Swedish couple last checked the Jeffa spade rudder and bearings in January 2023 while IdaLina was on the hard in Trinidad. 

The boat was antifouled with Coppercoat, but Ingmar said they had followed the instructions from Jeffa, painting epoxy up to 15mm on the aluminium, and using a non-metallic antifouling paint 5cm around the rudder.

 

The Arcona yacht, IdaLina on the first day Ingmar and Katarina sailed her.

Credit: Katarina Ravudd

“I was down below and I didn’t hear the sound. People have asked us if we hit something but I heard no sound at all inside the boat. Ingmar heard a short, sharp sound underneath where he was standing. He called me and said “Look at this, I have no rudder” and he could turn the wheel with a finger.
My first thought was the chain had snapped so I opened up the hatch and the rudder stock was broken immediately below the steering quadrant inside the lazarette. That was not what I expected to see,” explained Katarina.

According to the Arcona website, the Arcona 460 rudder is made of glass fibre with multiaxial roving, and filled with polyurethane foam.

The rudder stock is made of water-resistant aluminium, laminated into the rudder and friction is minimised due to self-aligning roller bearings.

The rudder is also supported axially by ball bearings.

 

Katrina contacted two nearby Swedish boats – Pacific Wind and Yaghan – advising them of their situation.

At the time, they were sailing in 20-knot winds, with occasional squalls gusting 27 knots and 2.5m waves.

 

The broken rudder stock.

Credit: Katarina Ravudd

 

Initially, Ingmar and Katarina decided to rig lines from winches to the rudder to provide steering; at this point, there was no indication that the boat was taking on water.

They had already dropped the boat’s sails and turned off the autopilot.

They also had a Hydrovane self-steering system which could have been used as an emergency rudder.

 

“Our idea was to fix the rudder; to take a line from the winch down through the upper bearings to below the lower quadrant for the autopilot to lift it up and fix it as close as possible to the hull.

As the rudder stock is mounted inside, the movement of the broken upper part of the rudder stock was restricted due to the middle floor made of marine plywood.

Before we were ready it suddenly dropped 10 cm, and unsupported, the rudder stock had much more movement, which caused the lower quadrant to get stuck into the protecting polyester cylinder around the stock, and the force broke the protecting polyester cylinder free from the hull.

It was about 1.5 hours from the moment it broke until the rudder stock dropped down, and that was when the big problem started,” explained Ingmar.

 

The couple removed some of the glassfibre and rubber sealing to gain access to the lower quadrant.

By now, it was clear the Arcona yacht was taking on water; they removed the four bolts that held the quadrant together so they could push down the rudder to try and patch the leak.

 

The Arcona yacht, IdaLina was fitted with a Hydrovane self-steering system.

Credit: Ingmar Ravudd

 

“The glassfibre cylinder [which holds the lower bearings and protects the rudder stock] was totally broken and the aluminium tube of the lower bearing was separated from the other parts.

There were sharp parts from the glassfibre that had broken,” said Katarina.

Initially, they tried to use an inflatable repair kit to plug the hole, but the part in the valve to blow it up was missing. Instead, they used a diver’s surface marker buoy, but sharp plastic punctured it.

“We had to use the sealing equipment we had without being able to inflate the sealing ring. It consists of a stick with a rope tied in the middle that you thread through the hole.

The line passes through the centre of a round flat plastic disc with a clam cleat on top.

It was tightened tightly over the hole.

We pushed the disc down with bridge fenders and other things we had available.

However, the water pressure caused the disc to leak when the stern pumped in the waves,” said Ingmar.

At the same time, the Arcona yacht’s bilge pump and a separate 230V bilge pump were struggling to cope with the rate of water ingress and needed attention; debris including food can labels had clogged them.

Although Ingmar cleared the problem, it became increasingly obvious to both Ingmar and Katarina that they needed to shift their focus from saving the boat to saving themselves.

From the boat initially taking on water, it took 1.5 hours for IdaLina to sink.

“It was hard to say we would not be able to save her, and we would have to save ourselves instead. That was the hardest part,” said Katarina.

 

“I called up Pacific Wind, and I told them, “We will sink; we are taking on water”. 

The water was already 8 inches down below.

"We were never afraid.We were so lucky; apart from the boat sinking all of the circumstances were in our favour. We cut the string between the raft and IdaLina four minutes before she went down and then Pacific Wind came, arriving just as she was sinking.”

 

The Arcona 460, IdaLina just moments before she sank.

Credit: Katarina Ravudd

 

It took 1.5 hours for the Arcona yacht, IdaLina to sink.

Credit: Ingmar Ravudd

 

25 minutes later, Katarina and Ingmar were safely onboard Pacific Wind.

 

As part of their usual cruising plans, the couple already had two emergency grab bags with the boat’s papers, their passports, and emergency gear.

In addition, they packed six extra bags with food, clothing, computers, their mobile phones and water.

 

Reflecting on the experience, Katarina said she would have done things differently.

“In my first call to Yaghan,  who were 12nm ahead of us,  they asked if we wanted assistance and I said no. Today, I would have said yes. I would also make sure I packed our multi-purpose suits and our money with us. We had survival suits and multipurpose suits as we planned to go to Alaska, but in hindsight, we should have taken multi-purpose suits with us as although we spent 25 minutes in the raft, it could have been a lot longer if Pacific Wind had struggled to find us.”

 

A tired Ingmar safely on board Pacific Wind.

Credit: Ingmar Ravudd

 

Ingmar would also equip the boat with a higher capacity pump and ensure there was a watertight bulkhead around the rudder.

 

Arcona is still investigating the sinking.

Other sailors have also not been shy in coming forward with theories and comments on the sinking of the Arcona yacht.

 

“We get a lot of people telling us what we should have done, that it was no problem to sail a boat with a hole in the hull for 200nm,” said Katarina. 

“Often when you think of a hole in your boat, it is a through-hull fitting which has broken and for that, you have lots of plugs and bungs. But in our case, we suddenly had a hole with a 6-inch diameter which is jagged. People have told us we should have dived under the boat to plug the hole but in the conditions we were in, that would have been wishing death.”

 

In an earlier statement, the CEO of Arcona Yachts, Fredrik Malmqvist, said, “At Arcona Yachts, safety is our priority, and we are therefore taking this very seriously.

“We understand from the Arcona 460 owners that the rudder stock was broken, however, we don’t yet know how or why. We are working closely with our suppliers and key people to immediately investigate this serious incident further.

 

Ingmar and Katarina safely in Hiva Oa in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Credit: Katarina Ravudd

Ingmar and Katarina are now looking for another boat, although their plan to sail around the world is over.

“Ingmar found me a boat, a First Seascape 24 called Unsinkable which would be perfect,” said Katarina. 

“We are planning to go back to French Polynesia for a few weeks and hopefully next summer we may be able to do Alaska for a few weeks or so, but we are not going to buy a new boat to continue going around the world.”

 

Links :

• PBO : Arcona 460 sinking prompts investigation by Arcona Yachts