More than 1,500 migrants have landed on or been rescued off the coast of the Greek island of Crete in the last 48 hours, an unprecedented surge that is overwhelming local authorities and testing a new government strategy to block the increasingly active sea route from Libya.
The Hellenic Coast Guard reported a record 959 arrivals on Sunday alone, the highest single-day number in recent memory.
The influx continued this week, with rescue services coordinating multiple operations to save at least 564 more people from overcrowded boats south of Crete and the smaller island of Gavdos.
The dramatic spike in arrivals highlights the intensifying pressure on the Libya-to-Crete corridor, which European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently noted is the origin point for 93% of illegal crossings into the EU.
The crisis comes just as Greece is ramping up a dual strategy of deterrence and diplomacy. Last week, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ordered the deployment of naval vessels to patrol international waters near Libya in an effort to block smuggling boats.
On the diplomatic front, the surge coincides with a high-level mission to Libya. Greece’s new Minister of Migration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, is scheduled to visit the country on Tuesday alongside EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner and their Italian and Maltese counterparts.
The visit follows a meeting on Sunday between Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and Libyan military commander General Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi, which also focused on curbing the migrant flows.
On Crete, local officials are struggling to manage the arrivals.
“The situation is critical,” said Eleni Zervoudaki, the Deputy Mayor of Chania, warning that local resources are stretched to their limit as they work to provide shelter and care for the hundreds of rescued individuals.