30/10: 40 travellers brought back to Turkey

31.10.2017 / 21:00 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 30th of October 2017

Case name: 2017_10_30-AEG315
Situation: 40 travellers in distress east of Lesvos brought back to Turkey
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case:

On Monday, 30th of October 2017, at 00:14am, we received information about a boat in distress in Turkish territorial waters on its way to Mytilene/Lesvos. According to the contact person, the boat carried 40 travellers and the engine of the boat was not working any more. We couldn’t establish contact with the travellers. At 00:32am we informed the Greek Coast Guard about the boat.
The Greek officer refused to operate in the Turkish territorial water and told us he will report the case to the Turkish Coast Guard. At 00:50 we contacted The Hellenic Coast Guard in Mytilene, that said they will send a ship to search for the boat.
We still couldn’t establish contact to the boat directly.
At 01:18am we called the Turkish Coast Guard that promised to send a rescue ship. We also sent a distress email to document the alert.
At 02:04am we received an email from the Turkish Main Search and Rescue Center, confirming the rescue of 40 travellers by the Turkish Coast Guard.

Last update: 21:14 Nov 07, 2017

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