MOAS launches migrant vessel locating app

The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) is currently testing an app to assist in locating migrant vessels in the Mediterranean.

The app is being developed in conjunction with Grey for Good, and it will potentially allow anyone, anywhere, to use their smartphone to assist in locating the vessels. The app, called I Sea app, is available for download on Apple Store and an Android version is being developed.

The app allows smartphone users to access satellite images of a specific stretch of ocean and check it for migrants who may be in trouble.

 “The app uses an algorithm that divides the satellite images of the sea into thousands of smaller plots,"  Low Jun Jek, executive creative director at Grey told Wired magazine.

 "Each of these plots is then sent or assigned to different users so they can view the plot through the app. The user will receive a notification on their phone that will prompt them to check their plot - a simple task that will take no more than one minute at most,” he added

Under the new app, anyone who spots what looks like a migrant boat can flag the patch of sea to alert authorities and Moas. The image will then be analysed to launch a rescue mission if necessary.

Moas, which currently runs operations in the Aegean, Andaman and Mediterranean recently launched its third season of rescues in the Mediterranean. The foundation has saved some 14,726 lives since it started carrying out rescues in 2013.

Low added that the app, which currently relies on access to satellite images from a select group of partners, and incurs a significant cost in processing, will “showcase the power of the idea” and perhaps drum up more financial support.

Moas’s chief of operations Ian Ruggier said that the app will also provide data to Moas leading to an extension of Moas’s range of vision and awareness.