Refugee vessel intercepted by Turkish forces in the Aegean Sea

10.06.2015 / 09:51 / Aegean Sea, Turkey

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigation – 9th of June 2015

Case name: 2015_06_09-AEG14
Situation: Vessel intercepted by Turkish coastguards in the Aegean Sea
Status of WTM Investigation: No final confirmation received
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea, Turkey

Summary of the Case: On Tuesday the 9th of June 2015, at around 10am, the Alarm Phone shift team received a call from a person on a vessel in the Aegean Sea who stated that they had left Didim/Turkey approximately 40 minutes earlier and were now chased by the Turkish coastguard. They asked for urgent help to prevent an interception and push-back.

Only minutes later, our contact person on the vessel reached out to us again and reported that they had already been intercepted by the Turkish authorities and were now in the process of being taken on board. Following his account, the Turkish forces shot in the air repeatedly. The shift team advised him to stay in touch and a write a report as soon as possible. Unfortunately, contact to him and the passengers could not be re-established anymore.

Turkish authorities confirmed the interception of 47 Syrians on a vessel near Didim a few days later (see source 1).

Last update: 15:20 Jun 16, 2015

Sources

http://www.sgk.tsk.tr/baskanliklar/genel_sekreterlik/guncel_faaliyetler/08-14%20haziran%202015.asp

Credibility:

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