Swedish Coast Guard

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has expressed Ankara's growing discontent over recent violations of Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard during its operations targeting migrant boats.

The Shipping Ministry has recently entered into three contracts with Viking Norsafe Life-Saving Equipment Hellas. These contracts involve the acquisition of a total of 31 patrol boats, including 21 conventional boats and 10 inflatable boats, along with three high-speed boats for the Port Authority. The total value of these contracts amounts to 14,372,700 euros.

Sifis Valyrakis, a former minister and resistance fighter against Greece's 1967-74 military dictatorship, was found dead at sea Sunday night, the coast guard has announced. He was 77.

The first results of the Hellenic Coast Guard's ongoing operation to secure Greek maritime borders in the eastern Aegean - compiled by the National Integrated Maritime Surveillance System and seen by Kathimerini - show that from March 1 to 11 a total of 43 boats carrying 1,527 illegal migrants were intercepted by coast guard vessels, aided by navy and land forces.

Greece's Coast Guard rescued early Thursday morning 19 migrants who were on board an inflatable dingy in the sea northeast of the islet of Farmakonisi in the eastern Aegean.
They were all transferred to the island's port, state-run news agency ANA-MPA reported.

No further details were available on the rescuees or their health. 

At least 34 migrants, most of them toddlers, drowned yesterday, as coastguard boats and other vessels tried to save hundreds of others packed into boats off the coast of Libya, rescuers said.

Italian coast guard said 1,569 migrants had been rescued in 11 separate operations in the Strait of Sicily, since the number of boats departing from the Libyan coast has been rising.

The “Diciotti” vessel rescued four inflatable dinghies and a boat, bringing a total of 774 people to safety, including 125 women and five children, the coast guard said in a statement.