Greek authorities rescued 119 migrants in three incidents over a recent 24-hour period, ending several days of zero arrivals. All were transported to the port of Iraklio, Crete.
The rescues came after a spike in early July, when 2,711 migrants arrived from Libya in one week – 900 in a single day – before the government suspended asylum applications for those arriving illegally from North Africa by boat. From July 9 to August 9, arrivals from Libya dropped to 913.
On Friday, a Portuguese-flagged cargo ship spotted 35 migrants in a dinghy southeast of Gavdos. They were picked up by a Frontex vessel, taken to Paleochora, and transferred to Hania for registration.
In a second incident, 56 migrants were found aboard a sailing vessel south of Santorini. The Hellenic Coast Guard, assisted by a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, transported them to Iraklio. Their nationalities were not made public. In the third case, officers in Iraklio’s Kalo Limenes area discovered 29 migrants – 23 men, two women, and four minors – on a beach. They told authorities they had departed Tobruk, Libya, paying smugglers a significant sum.
Other migrants identified a 28-year-old Sudanese man as the smuggler; he was arrested.
Frontex data show irregular border crossings into the EU fell 18% year-on-year in January-July 2025, to 95,200. Most major migration routes recorded decreases, though all three Mediterranean routes remain under pressure. The new Libya-Crete sea corridor saw an increase, with Libya the main departure point.
Significant declines were noted in the Western Balkans (-47%), eastern land borders (-45%) and the West Africa route (-46%). The Central Mediterranean remains the busiest path, accounting for two in five irregular entries, and rose 9% from the same period in 2024.