Vessel in distress near Samos Island, Greece, rescued

16.07.2015 / 21:02 / Aegean Sea, Samos Island

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations - 15th of July 2015

Case name: 2015_07_15-AEG21
Situation: Vessel in distress in Aegean Sea, rescued
Status of WTM Investigations: Concluded
Place of Incidents: Aegean Sea

Summary of the Cases: On Wednesday the 15th of July 2015, the Alarm Phone shift team received a distress call from the Aegean Sea in the morning, at approximately 6:40am. The travellers reported that they were on a vessel about near Samos and that their vessel was capsizing. They said that they had already informed the coastguard. We also reached out to the Greek coastguard who were not cooperative and did not tell us about whether or not they intended to intervene. Afterwards, the travellers could not be reached anymore. Our shift team contacted the Hellenic Rescue Team and was passed on before the call was ended and could not be re-connected. We contacted the UNHCR officer in Athens who agreed to contact the Hellenic Rescue Team himself. At approximately 8:30am, the Greek coastguard confirmed that a rescue had been taken place near Samos Island. While, at that time, we could not be sure that it was the vessel in question it seemed likely, also as the coastguard stated that it was the only vessel in the area.

A few days later, we were able to get in touch with the person who called us on the 15th of June so that the rescue of the vessel could be confirmed.

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