Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

Tracking data reveals migrant boat did not move for hours in Greece

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Guardian
  • 19 Jun 2023 22:50
4 Min Read

Greece's coastguard claimed to have been in contact with the boat from about 3 pm to 7 pm on Tuesday by radio, satphone, and helicopter and that the boat was moving “at a steady course and speed” toward Italy, but new information suggests otherwise.

  • x
  • Survivors of the shipwreck sleep in a warehouse at the port in Kalamata, Greece on June 16, 2023 (AFP)
    Survivors of the shipwreck sleep in a warehouse at the port in Kalamata, Greece on June 16, 2023. (AFP)

New tracking data reveals that the fishing boat that sank off the Greek coast did not move for several hours before capsizing, which proves contradictory to accounts and claims from the Hellenic coastguard.

An analysis by The Guardian of ship movements provided by the MariTrace service showed that two vessels – the Lucky Sailor and the Faithful Warrior – circled around the boat for at least four hours.

The coastguard claimed to have been in contact with the boat from about 3 pm to 7 pm on Tuesday by radio, satphone, and helicopter and that the boat was moving “at a steady course and speed” toward Italy. The boat then began rocking and sank in international waters off the west coast of Greece after 2 am on Wednesday.

An initial police investigation in Pakistan, where some of those onboard were from, revealed that 750 to 800 people were on the boat, but other witness accounts say the number actually was between 400 and 750. So far, 78 bodies have been recovered. 

Read next: Greek MP kicked out of Mitsotakis' party over migrant boat comment

The UN’s human rights agency stated that up to 500 people are still missing, which makes this tragedy potentially the second deadliest migrant shipwreck after the capsizing of a migrant boat in April 2015  that killed up to 1,100 people on a Libya-Italy route. 

'BS' allegations

Greek authorities claim that the migrants repeatedly refused help and were not in danger, and added that the boat was moving more or less steadily until minutes before it sank. However, activists spoke out to say that the migrants were in danger and made calls for help over 15 hours before the boat sank.

Legal experts argue that regardless, the conditions of both the boat and passengers should have prompted an immediate rescue operation.

The Greek coastguard's spokesperson, Nikos Alexiou, denied making "any move" that may have endangered the migrants, calling the allegations "bull****" and "lies". “There was no push, tug, hug or whatever,” he claimed, apparently irritated by the charges. "We approached and tied up for five minutes to try to make contact and to talk to them."

The captain of a Greek coastguard vessel claimed that when a rope was tied to the boat after it stopped moving, some passengers said: “No help” and “Go Italy”, and continued to untie the rope and restart the engine, which stopped at 1:40 am. 

NEW: Tracking data of ships suggests the migrant boat that sank off Greece was hardly moving in the 7 hours before.

Totally contradicts Greek coastguard's claim it was on “steady course & speed” & so didn’t need rescue.@KallergisK's & my investigationhttps://t.co/wqfvR5WiKl

— Nick Beake (@Beaking_News) June 18, 2023

Survivors such as Ayad, 24, from Syria, told The Sunday Times that the boat sank 45 miles southwest of Greece's southern Peloponnese peninsula, but no one assisted them. His testimony was corroborated by four other survivors who recall that the Greek coastguard did not provide assistance for at least three hours after the boat capsized: From around midnight last Wednesday until the first rays of sunlight appeared, “They just watched,” Ayad stated. “They could have saved so many more.”

The Guardian analyzed a BBC report based on tracking data supplied by the maritime analytics platform, MarineTraffic, which demonstrated that the boat did not move for seven hours.

Nine survivors, all Egyptian men between the ages of 20 and 40 were accused of human trafficking and other offenses and pleaded not guilty in court on Monday.

The men face charges of participating in a criminal organization, causing a shipwreck, and endangering lives.

  • capsized boat
  • Italy
  • Pakistan
  • kalamata
  • migrants
  • Greece

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS