Central Indian Ocean Maritime Route

The Central Indian Ocean Maritime Route remains one of the least documented maritime migration routes in the world. Departures from Sri Lanka towards destinations such as La Réunion, Australia, or beyond illustrate the complexity, invisibility, and evolving nature of migration movements across the Indian Ocean.

These journeys often involve extremely long distances across open waters, using unsafe or unseaworthy vessels, with very limited access to communication, assistance, or rescue capacities. Unlike other maritime migration routes, available information remains scarce, making it particularly difficult to assess the true scale of departures, disappearances, and deaths at sea.

Despite the lack of comprehensive data, the risks faced by those attempting the crossing are immense: prolonged exposure at sea, dehydration, engine failures, rough weather conditions, and the absence of dedicated Search and Rescue resources in vast areas of the Indian Ocean.

‍