January 19, 2003. Off the coast of Puglia, twenty miles from Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, six bodies of migrants of Kurdish and Iraqi nationality are recovered. The small boat on which the migrants were traveling is intercepted by the Russian tanker «Brother 4». Only six men survived on board, while 23 are missing.

On the same day, off the coast of Morocco, 18 immigrants who were on board a dinghy en route to reach Europe drowned.