On 14 April, Greek authorities said they have rescued over 300 migrants coming mainly from Bangladesh, Egypt, Yemen and Sudan over the previous two days. Nearly half of them were rescued on 13 April off the island of Crete, the coast guard said, adding that they were travelling on at least three makeshift vessels.
On 20 April, Vassilis Kikilias, the Greek minister for maritime affairs, pledged to ‘defend’ Crete against illegal migration. He also announced the procurement of four aircraft and two drones to be deployed in the sea area south of Crete.
On 21 April, Kikilias said Greece has sent two senior Coast Guard officials to Libya to try and talk local authorities into helping stem a wave of migration in small boats from eastern Libya to Crete. A third officer will be permanently stationed at the Greek consulate in Benghazi to liaise with the Libyan Coast Guard. He said the much greater distance involved in the passage from Libya – 70-100 nautical miles, compared to 2-7 from Turkey – made Coast Guard operations to handle the influx ‘complex and difficult.’
Nearly 2,300 people have reached Crete’s southern coast from eastern Libya so far this year, about a third of the total 6,700 people who have entered Greece illegally since 1 January 2026.