Working Conditions Aboard the Juliet

On May 23, 2024, a distress call led the Greek Coast Guard to intervene for a migrant vessel facing peril 70 nautical miles south of Crete. The boat had 37 passengers on board, comprising 34 men and three minors. The tanker 'Juliet' was the vessel that responded to the emergency, successfully rescuing the individuals 83.5 nautical miles south of Crete. Unfortunately, reports indicated that during the rescue, one person fell overboard and drowned. The group of rescued migrants was subsequently transferred to a Greek lifeboat and brought safely to Kale Limeni port. Later, they were escorted to Heraklion by officials from the Central Port Authority. During interviews, the migrants revealed they commenced their journey from Tobruk on the morning of May 21, paying a staggering 150,000 Egyptian pounds for passage. The Central Port Authority in Heraklion initiated a preliminary investigation, during which two men, aged 28 and 36, were taken into custody for breaching several laws, including illegal entry into the country and facilitation of human smuggling as per articles of Law 3386/05 and Law 5083/23.