This article is a list of migrant vessel incidents on the Mediterranean Sea leading up to and resulting from the European migrant crisis with recent migration also related to developments such as the Arab Spring protests (2010–2012), civil wars in Syria (since 2011) and Libya (2014–2020), and emerging conflicts in Sudan, Niger, and Israel and Palestine in 2023.

[3] The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has identified three key routes through which migrants in the region travel into Europe by sea or, in some cases, in journeys along coasts: Journeys before these crossings also carry a high risk for the people involved as they include crossing remote terrains, such as the Sahara Desert, and residing in countries in conflict such as Libya and Syria,[4] from where civil wars with international intervention have led to considerable forced migration since the Arab Spring.

IMF data for 2023 provide the following ranking in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), in countries on major routes:[5] GDP per capita in Turkey ($41,412) and Greece ($39,478) is comparable, although the Aegean Sea is a transit route for migrants from elsewhere.

Southern Italy and Andalusia are, by this measure, similar to North Africa ($17,000-18,000) although the Schengen zone allows for further northward migration.

Some of the world's lowest living standards are experienced in Syria ($6,374 per capita GDP at pre-war levels), Sudan ($4,471) and Niger (£1,600).

[5] During the Cold War, migration by land or sea in the region was limited (or highly regulated) by the presence of authoritarian regimes but also facilitated by relatively generous safe and legal immigration routes into Western Europe.

The events of the Arab Spring had a similar effect early in the second decade of the 21st Century, especially as a result of wars in Syria and Libya.

The loss of European ships, such as the Costa Concordia in 2012, received substantially more public and media attention than that of migrant vessels during this time.

He remarked: "These brothers and sisters of ours were trying to escape difficult situations to find some serenity and peace; they were looking for a better place for themselves and their families, but instead they found death.

"[9] 2014 was a turning point in terms of scale, although that does not diminish the sense of loss experienced by families and in home communities in previous times.

[12] The eleven survivors included Doaa Al Zamel, whose story is featured in the 2017 book, A Hope More Powerful than the Sea.

[13] The year 2015 became the most significant in the crisis until that time, in terms of people dying or missing while migrating across the Mediterranean Sea, accompanied by a major increase in international public and media attention.

[22][23] On Saturday, 18 April, a boat that had just left the port city of Zuwarah, Tripoli, capsized off the Libyan coast during the night, with up to 850 migrants aboard.

Italian prosecutors say that a Bangladeshi survivor estimated 950 people were on board, and smugglers locked hundreds of the migrants in the ship's hold.

[26] Among the people on board were about 350 Eritreans, 200 Senegalese, as well as migrants from Syria, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia.

[31] In June 2016, Italian Navy conducted a recovery operation and raised the boat from a depth of 370 metres (1,214 ft) by a specially designed robotic apparatus.

[30][33] The Italian Navy, at the request of the Prosecutor of Catania, has made available the minesweepers Gaeta and Vieste, along with the corvette Sfinge, for search and localization of the vessel sank.

[34] A boat carrying migrants reportedly sank off the east coast of Rhodes, Greece on 20 April, after striking a reef.

Meanwhile, there was also alarm over diseases: about 150 of the 675 migrants who arrived on the ship Vega in Augusta[41][42] were put in isolation in the port for suspected cases of chickenpox and scabies.

[44] 283 migrants aboard three boats were rescued by the German warship Schleswig-Holstein a few miles from the Libyan coast and landed in the port of Augusta in Sicily.

[47] 50 migrants killed by fumes while packed into the hold and prevented from exiting by the ship's crew off the coast of Libya; survivors were rescued by a Swedish unit.

[50] Information gathered by the IOM found a similar total of 5,136 persons dead or missing at sea including 4,498 by drowning.

[57] In 2017, the number of people who died or were declared missing at sea remained tragically high, despite being lower than in each of the two preceding years.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an estimated 3,139 people lost their lives or went missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

This route, often utilized by migrants attempting to reach Europe from North Africa, has long been recognized as one of the most dangerous migratory paths in the world.

[59] The International Organization for Migration (IOM) corroborated these estimates, recording a similar total of 3,139 deaths and disappearances.

These statistics serve as a sobering reminder of the extreme risks that migrants face in their search for safety and better opportunities, particularly on the treacherous Mediterranean routes.

[74] An attempted coup in Sudan in April 2023 was followed by further conflict which led to forced migration, including the arrival of over 280,000 refugees in Egypt.

[75] Natural disasters such as the Marrakesh-Safi earthquake in Morocco and the effects of Storm Daniel in Libya in September 2023 and the Hamas-Israel War may have also led to migration by people affected.

[77] On 9 March, at least 14 people were killed and 54 rescued when their boat sank off the coast of Sfax region, Tunisia, en route to Europe.