03/10: 3 boats: 1 intercepted by the Turkish Coastguard, 1 arrived to Lesvos, 1 arrived to Samos

04.10.2018 / 18:53 / Aegean Sea

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 3rd of October 2018
Case name: 2018_10_03-AEG435
Situation: 3 boats, 1 to Chios intercepted by the Turkish Coastguard, 1 arrived to Lesvos, and 1 arrived to Samos
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Case: In the early hours of Wednesday the 3rd of October 2018, the Alarm phone shift team was alerted to 3 boats in the Aegean sea. The first boat, which was carrying 42 people (including 13 children), was en route to Chios. After encountering problems with the boat’s engine, they were intercepted by the Turkish Coastguard. The second boat of 19 people landed in the South of Lesvos. The third boat which we were alerted to was one of six that landed on Samos that day.

At 5:30am CEST we were informed about a boat with engine troubles carrying 42 people (including 13 children) which was heading towards Chios. We received a GPS position for the boat showing that it was in Greek waters. Over the next hour we were unable to make contact with the boat and at 6:20am we provided the Greek coastguard with our information on the case. They later told us that despite having sent a boat to this GPS position, they did not find a boat in distress. At 7:50am we are told by our contact person that the boat was with the Turkish Coastguard, and at 8:45am received confirmation of this from the boat.

At 5:49am a contact person alerted us to a boat carrying 19 people, which from the GPS position provided appeared to be in Turkish waters. At 1:40pm a new contact person for this case informed us that a boat (which we concluded was most likely the boat from this case) had arrived on Lesbos.

At 6:10am we received information about a boat heading towards Chios. The boat was in Greek waters. At 6:20am we contacted the Greek coastguard and gave them the information we had. At 7:45am the Greek coastguard said that despite searching at the position we had sent them, they didn’t find any boat. The Greek coastguard contacted us several times over the next few hours to get more information, which as we had received none, we could not provide. At noon the contact person told us that the boat had safely arrived on Samos.
Last update: 18:56 Oct 19, 2018
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