Eleven rescued after diving company catamaran sinks off Tabarca island

The incident

A catamaran operated by a diving company began taking on water and sank in waters southeast of Tabarca island, near Santa Pola (Alicante), on Saturday 18 July 2026. The vessel was carrying 11 people when it started to founder. An alert was sent by Emergencias de la Generalitat Valenciana to Salvamento Marítimo, which activated a multi-agency response.

Rescue operation

Salvamento Marítimo deployed its Salvamar Leo boat and Helimer 220 helicopter, while a Guardia Civil patrol boat and the Alicante municipal fire and rescue service (Speis) also responded. The Speis II boat was already on station at Tabarca island as part of a special summer duty roster established under a recent collaboration agreement between the city and Salvamento Marítimo. That proximity allowed it to reach the scene in what officials described as "just a few minutes" and carry out an "immediate" rescue of all 11 occupants from the water. The survivors were transferred to the Salvamar Leo and taken to Santa Pola port, where medical teams were waiting for precautionary checks. All were reported unharmed.

Official reaction

Alicante's security councillor, Julio Calero, called the operation "a practical demonstration of the effectiveness of the measures recently promoted by the Alicante City Council to reinforce maritime safety around Tabarca." He added that the summer duty with Speis II on the island had brought "a substantial improvement in response capacity to emergencies in an area that sees high nautical activity during the summer season." Calero also stressed that the collaboration agreement with Salvamento Marítimo was integrating municipal resources fully into the maritime emergency system, "optimising coordination between agencies and significantly reducing intervention times when people's lives may be in danger."

The launch of the special summer duty with the presence of the Speis II boat on the island has meant a substantial improvement in response capacity to emergencies in an area that sees high nautical activity during the summer season.

Salvage of the vessel

After the rescue, Salvamar Leo returned to the site and located the catamaran semi-sunken. A line was secured to the bow and a tow was attempted. Salvamento Marítimo described the subsequent tow as "very complicated" due to the vessel's compromised stability. The catamaran was eventually brought to Santa Pola port, where auxiliary harbour boats assisted with docking. Salvamento Marítimo later highlighted the inter-agency coordination, stating that "the rescue chain at sea has multiple well-oiled and coordinated links."

The rescue chain at sea has multiple well-oiled and coordinated links.