Offshore Vessel Rescues Nine Migrants, Who Are Later Arrested for Piracy

Spanish authorities have arrested nine migrants on charges of piracy after they allegedly threatened the crew of a ship that rescued them off the coast of Morocco. The OSV Vos Pace encountered two migrant boats, with a total of 79 occupants, about 50 nautical miles northeast of Lanzarote. The majority of the migrants were men from North African nations, along with women and children. The ship was headed for the port of Tan Tan in Morocco to deliver the survivors, but nine migrants mutinied and demanded to be taken to Spanish territory in the Canary Islands. The crew changed course for Fuerteventura, where Spanish police in riot gear arrested the suspects. The men could face a minimum sentence of ten years in prison if convicted.

This incident is not the first time hijackings by rescued migrants have been reported. In 2020, British troops seized control of the tanker Nave Andromeda from a group of stowaways who had threatened the crew. However, UK prosecutors declined to prosecute the suspects, who later applied for UK asylum. There have also been cases of apparent misunderstandings, such as when Italian military commandos responded to a report of knife-wielding “pirates” on the ro/ro Galatea Seaways, only to find that the suspects included a pregnant woman, a man with a broken ankle, and two children with symptoms of hypothermia.

The remaining 70 migrants rescued by the Vos Pace will be questioned and processed. These incidents highlight the challenges faced by both rescuers and authorities in dealing with rescued migrants, as well as the potential for tension and conflict during such operations.

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