05/09: Two boats in the Aegean: 30 travellers towards Chios intercepted to Turkey, 35 people rescued to Samos/ Greece

06.09.2018 / 21:45 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 5th of September 2018

Case name: 2018_05_09-AEG422
Situation: Two boats in the Aegean: 30 travellers towards Chios intercepted to Turkey, 35 people rescued to Samos/ Greece
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded

Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case:

On Wednesday, 5th of September, the Alarm Phone was alerted to two boats in the Aegean Sea. One boat with 30 people on its way to Chios was eventually intercepted by the Turkish Coast Guard, The other boat with 35 people on board was safely rescued to Samos.

Case 1: At 4:44am CEST we were informed about a boat in distress on its way to Chios, carrying 30 people, among them 7 women and 9 children. We couldn’t establish a connection to the boat, but the contact person informed us that their engine had stopped. We received their GPS position. The boat was in Turkish waters. Water was entering the boat and the travellers asked to alert the Turkish Coast Guard. At 5:04am we called the Turkish Coast Guard and passed all information. At 5:37am we called the Coast Guard again that confirmed the rescue.

Case 2: At 5:22am CEST we were alerted to a boat near Samos, carrying 35 people, among them 10 women and 20 children. At 6:10am we received a position of the boat and called the Greek Coast Guard. We also sent an email to the respective authorities to document the alert. At 7:47am we called the Samos port police that informed us that the Coast Guard would be about to rescue the boat. At 8:49am we called JRCC Piraeus that confirmed the rescue of the travellers to Samos.

Last update: 20:13 Sep 26, 2018

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