Two distress calls in the Aegean Sea, near the Greek islands of Kos and Chios

Verified

  In Distress

13.10.2015 / 12:47 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 12th of October 2015

Case name: 2015_10_12-AEG97
Situation: Two distress calls in the Aegean Sea, near the Greek islands of Kos and Chios
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Monday the 12th of October 2015, the Alarm Phone was alerted to two distress cases in the Aegean Sea, close to the Greek islands of Kos and Chios. Both alerts reached us via facebook.

At 9:18pm, we received a message about a 1st distress case of a boat near Kos with about 50 persons including one passenger, who was ill. Their engine had broken down. They had already informed the Greek coastguard, but wanted us to call the coastguard again. The Greek coastguard confirmed that they already knew about the case and that they would send help. At 10:29 the rescue of the passenger was confirmed.

A few minutes after we had received the confirmation that the first boat had been rescued, we were alerted to a 2nd case of distress of a boat with approximately 150 passengers waiting for the Turkish coastguard to rescue them. At 10:44pm, The Turkish coastguard confirmed to us that they had already started the rescue of the boat. Our Facebook contact confirmed that the Turkish coastguard had arrived just a few minutes later. However, at 11pm the Turkish coastguard called us back and confirmed rescue, but only of 21 persons. They could not see another boat in vicinity and were not able to reach the phone number, which we had passed on to them. We inquired with our contact person whether the boat that had been rescued was the one we had been who confirmed that the boat had been rescued and corrected that the boat had carried 21 and not 150 persons.
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

Related Reports

18:15 Dec 05, 2018 / Aegean Sea Kms
04/12: 40 travellers in distress, rescued to Agathonisi Island
10:00 Mar 17, 2018 / Aegean Sea Kms
16/03 19 people arrived safely on the Greek island of Agathonisi
16:07 Apr 01, 2018 / Aegean Sea Kms
31/03: 40 travellers in Greek waters close to Agathonisi pulled back by the Turkish coast guard
10:59 Dec 24, 2015 / Aegean Sea, Lesvos, Farmakonisi, and Chios Kms
23/12 Alarm Phone alerted to 9 emergency situations in the Aegean Sea, near Lesvos, Farmakonisi, and Chios
09:33 Sep 08, 2015 / Greek islands of Agathonisi, Lesvos, Leros, Chios, Samos, and Farmakonisi Kms
Alarm Phone alerted to 15 distress cases near the Greek islands of Agathonisi, Lesvos, Leros, Chios, Samos, and Farmakonisi