ATHENS — Greek authorities rescued 545 migrants from a fishing vessel off Gavdos on Friday in one of the largest operations in recent months, as arrivals from Libya to Greece's southernmost islands continue to surge.

The Hellenic Coast Guard received a distress signal shortly after 3 am on Friday. Three coast guard vessels, three Frontex ships and three commercial vessels responded to the emergency approximately 16 nautical miles southeast of Gavdos.

Rescuers located hundreds of migrants packed aboard a fishing boat. After several hours, the operation was completed safely and all 545 people were transferred to the port of Agia Galini on nearby Crete in good health.

Mayor Giannis Tatarakis of the Agios Vasilios municipality said the migrants would remain briefly in Agia Galini before being moved to Rethymno. Municipal authorities arranged food provisions for the arrivals.

In a separate incident Friday, Frontex located 32 migrants aboard another vessel off Gavdos. They were taken to Hania on Crete. All those rescued were reported to be in good health.

The southernmost Greek island with fewer than 100 permanent residents, Gavdos has recently emerged as a migration hotspot, with rescue missions now occurring almost daily.

Smuggling networks operating from Tobruk in eastern Libya have identified the 180-mile stretch to Gavdos as a gap in Mediterranean surveillance.

More than 7,300 migrants reached Crete and Gavdos in the first half of 2025 alone, surpassing the total for all of 2024. The vast majority depart from Libya's eastern coast, particularly Tobruk, on journeys lasting at least 36 hours across open water.

The route has become increasingly active as smugglers shift eastward in response to tighter European surveillance of traditional western Libyan departure points.

Migrants, primarily from Egypt, Sudan and Bangladesh, pay between €2,000 and €5,000 to traffickers for passage on overcrowded and often unseaworthy vessels.

Gavdos lacks proper facilities to accommodate large migrant groups. The island has no official reception centre, forcing authorities to rely on temporary transfers to Crete, where municipalities struggle with limited infrastructure.

Greece suspended asylum processing for arrivals from North Africa for three months in July 2025 amid the surge. The government has deployed naval frigates near Libyan territorial waters and increased patrols in coordination with Frontex.

The European Union earlier this month approved major tightening of migration rules, including controversial "return hubs" for rejected asylum seekers. — Euronews