23/08: 28 or 35 travelers in distress in Greek waters near Lesvos

24.08.2019 / 20:22 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 23rd of August 2019
Case name: 2019_08_23-AEG561
Situation: 28 (or 35) travelers drifting in Greek waters close to Lesvos, rescued by the Greek coastguard
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case:

On Friday, 23rd of August at 09:05am CEST the Alarm Phone was alerted to a group of 28 travelers by a contact person who told us they were in distress with a broken engine and needed rescue. According to the GPS location we received they were in Greek waters close to Mytilene, Lesvos. At 09:15am we tried to get through to the travelers directly but could not reach them and at 09:35am we alerted the Greek coastguard in Piraeus about the case via phone call and e-mail. We sent a message to the people on the boat to inform them about this.
We continuously tried to contact them but without success. At 10:14am the Greek authorities called us back to tell us they could not reach the travelers either and we agreed on trying to call them and updating the Greek coastguard if we would reach them. At 10:25am we reached a person on the boat and were told they were 35 people. The line broke before we could collect further information and could not be re-established. At 10:35am we informed the Greek coastguard about this and learned that they had sent a boat to the area but had not spotted the group. We agreed on keeping on trying to contact the travelers and updating the Greek CG. At 11:13am the Greek CG informed us they were still searching and at 11:37am we reached a person on the boat. We realized we needed an Arabic translator to find out more but neither the shift team nor the translator could reach them anymore from then on. At 12:00pm we informed the Greek CG about this and learned that they had found and rescued the travelers and they were all safe. We continued to try and reach the travelers for a direct confirmation of the rescue but without success and at 01:55pm we talked to the Greek CG again and compared the phone number of our case with the rescued people. It was the same, so we assumed we could close the case without a direct confirmation by the travelers.
Last update: 09:01 Sep 05, 2019
Credibility: UP DOWN 0
Layers »
  • Border police patrols
     
    While the exact location of patrols is of course constantly changing, this line indicates the approximate boundary routinely patrolled by border guards’ naval assets. In the open sea, it usually correspond to the outer extent of the contiguous zone, the area in which “State may exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws” (UNCLOS, art. 33). Data source: interviews with border police officials.
  • Coastal radars
     
    Approximate radar beam range covered by coastal radars operating in the frame of national marine traffic monitoring systems. The actual beam depends from several different parameters (including the type of object to be detected). Data source: Finmeccanica.
  • Exclusive Economic Zone
     
    Maritime area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea in which the coastal state exercises sovereign rights for the purposes of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, the seabed and its subsoil and the superjacent waters. Its breadth is 200 nautical miles from the straight baselines from which the territorial sea is measured (UNCLOS, Arts. 55, 56 and 57). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans
  • Frontex operations
     
    Frontex has, in the past few years, carried out several sea operations at the maritime borders of the EU. The blue shapes indicate the approximate extend of these operations. Data source: Migreurop Altas.
  • Mobile phone coverage
     
    Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network coverage. Data source: Collins Mobile Coverage.
  • Oil and gas platforms
     
    Oil and gas platforms in the Mediterranean. Data source:
  • Search and Rescue Zone
     
    An area of defined dimensions within which a given state is has the responsibility to co-ordinate Search and Rescue operations, i.e. the search for, and provision of aid to, persons, ships or other craft which are, or are feared to be, in distress or imminent danger. Data source: IMO availability of search and rescue (SAR) services - SAR.8/Circ.3, 17 June 2011.
  • Territorial Waters
     
    A belt of sea (usually extending up to 12 nautical miles) upon which the sovereignty of a coastal State extends (UNCLOS, Art. 2). Data source: Juan Luis Suárez de Vivero, Atlas of the European Seas and Oceans

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