Mapping Shipwrecks of Refugees and Immigrants in the Mediterranean Sea Since 2015
Mapping Shipwrecks of Refugees and Immigrants in the Mediterranean Sea Since 2015

Author(s): Artemis Tsiopa
Subject(s): Geography, Regional studies, Welfare systems, Present Times (2010 - today), Migration Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Immigrants; Mediterranean; refugees; sea routes; shipwrecks;
Summary/Abstract: In the recent years, the continuous political tensions and the multiple civil wars in many countries have caused a dramatic increase of people emigrating. Most of these people are trying to reach a European country. Since 2015, the number of immigrants and refugees is so high that this is considered a migration crisis. Most immigrants enter the EU by sea. They use boats to reach the shores of Greece, Italy and Spain. These boats very often sink due to a great variety of reasons, such as the dangerous weather conditions. These shipwrecks cause the death of thousands of immigrants and refugees. This paper aims to record and present the shipwrecks that have occurred during the period 2015-2017 in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as, the number of the dead and the missing persons from each shipwreck. For this purpose, data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are being used. From the produced maps it is evident that the majority of the shipwrecks occur in the Central Mediterranean Sea, as well as the majority of the dead and the missing. In the same context, the missing from the recorded shipwrecks appear to be more than the dead.

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