24/12: Pushback: 30 people pushed back after arrival to Chios

25.12.2021 / 11:51 / Eastern Med

Watch The Med Alarm Phone Investigations – 24th of December 2021

Case name: 2021_12_24-Eastern Med-848
Situation: A group of 30 people had practically arrived on Chios, when they were attacked and pushed back while the Hellenic Coast Guard denied that they were in Greek waters.
Status of WTM Investigation: Concluded
Place of Incident: Eastern Med

Summary of the Case:
In the early morning of the 24th of December we were called about a group of 30 people who travelled from Izmir to Chios. After arriving to Chios they were attacked assumingly by the Hellenic Coast Guard and pushed back. At 05:15 CET we inform the Hellenic Coast Guard about the boat in distress. At 05:49 we reach the people on the boat, they send us a location, showing them in Greek waters: 38°17'42.5"N 26°11'49.6"E. When we forward the position to the Hellenic Coast Guard they insist in the position being in Turkish waters. At 11:59 CET we call the Turkish Coast Guard who informs us they "collected" 8 groups from the Aegean Sea that morning, including the boat with 30 people. As we wrote on twitter, this indicates another massive pushback offensive by the Hellenic Coat Guard.

Last update: 11:57 May 04, 2022

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