Vessel in distress rescued by Turkey, group on Kalolimnos Island/Greece disoriented

23.08.2015 / 10:26 / Kalolimnos Island, Greece

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 22nd of August 2015

Case name: 2015_08_22-AEG49
Situation: Vessel in distress in the Aegean Sea, rescued by Turkey
Status of WTM Investigations: Concluded
Place of Incidents: Aegean Sea

Summary of the case: On Saturday the 22nd of August, at approximately 10.26am, the Alarm Phone was alerted to a distress situation in the Aegean Sea, close to Turkey via WhatsApp. In several attempts initial contact to the group of travellers could be established but the connection was too bad to make out further details. We received their GPS coordinates that showed them in Turkish territorial waters. Already shortly afterwards they told us that they had been rescued by the Turkish coastguards.

However, at about 1pm they contacted us again to point us to a potential distress situation and ask for our help. They knew of a group stranded on the Greek island of Kalolimnos who needed to be transferred. There were women and children amongst them and they had already been there for a day. We contacted the Greek coastguards who knew already of the people on the island. They said that they were working on the case.

Last update: 11:52 Aug 26, 2015

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