The mayor of Arrecife, Yonathan de León (Popular Party), has stated that "the Government of Spain moved yesterday," although it was actually in the early hours of this Thursday, the Maritime Rescue's rescue resources to waters under Moroccan responsibility. These Search and Rescue (SAR) areas are determined by an international agreement of the International Maritime Organization and signed by the countries. Yonathan de León has stated that the rescue of 112 people, in two inflatable boats, was carried out "when the boats were sailing" in waters "under the responsibility of Morocco."The mayor has indicated that the IMO agreement requires parties to coordinate Maritime Rescue rescues in their areas of responsibility. "In this intervention, as on other occasions, the teams from Spain have entered the SAR zone of Morocco," the councilman stated.
The mayor of the capital of Lanzarote has requested the Spanish Government that "if it wishes to continue providing the means and personnel to intervene in the Moroccan zone, it should also take the people they rescue to its ports and cities."
The official government information stated that "the two Zodiacs were located when they were sailing 26 kilometers east and 37 kilometers southeast of the island, and the crew of the Salvamar Polimnia was in charge of their rescue," the City Council stated, although the rescue was not carried out by the Salvamar, but by the Guardamar Polimnia.
However, the council has stated that "the geographical locations of both boats were in different areas to those alleged by the Government of Spain." The geosatellite location of the Salvamar Polimnia proves that it accessed the SAR zone of Morocco to undertake the transfer to the port of Arrecife. SAR zones are delimited areas of the sea that are the responsibility of a country in the event that a rescue or assistance mission to a boat must be carried out. These are marked by the IMO, according to the SAR convention in 1979.
The mayor of Arrecife has insisted that "there is social alarm" in Lanzarote due to "the permanent disembarkation of migrants in Canary Island ports, including Arrecife. "When reasonable, if Spain applied international law, they would have to be transferred to Moroccan ports [sic]".
