Migrants rescued south of Crete wait to be registered on their arrival at the port of Lavrio, near Athens, on Thursday, July 10, 2025. [Petros Giannakouris/AP]
More than 500 migrants arrived at the port of Lavrio near Athens on Thursday after being intercepted south of the island of Crete, as Greece implements emergency measures to address a surge in Mediterranean crossings from Libya.
The migrants, consisting mostly of young men, were transferred overnight aboard a bulk carrier after their fishing trawler was intercepted by Greek authorities. Service vessels helped bring them ashore at the mainland port. They will be sent to detention facilities near the capital.
Their transfer to the mainland was ordered because makeshift reception centers on Crete have reached capacity, with roughly 500 new arrivals per day on the Mediterranean island since the weekend.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Wednesday that Greece would suspend asylum processing for migrants arriving by sea from North Africa for three months.
Speaking in Parliament, Mitsotakis said the government also planned to build a detention site on Crete for migrants and was seeking direct collaboration between the Libya and Greek coast guards to turn back boats leaving the North African country.
“This emergency situation clearly demands emergency measures,” he said. “The Greek government has decided to inform the European Commission that … it will suspend the processing of asylum applications – for an initial period of three months – for those arriving by sea from North Africa.”
Migrants entering illegally will be detained, Mitsotakis said. “The Greek government is sending a firm message: the route to Greece is closing, and that message is directed at all human traffickers,” he said.
The measure targets arrivals on Crete and was taken during a diplomatic strain between the European Union and Libya over migration cooperation.
EU officials earlier this week were turned away from eastern Libya following an apparent disagreement on the format of talks planned on curbing crossings.
Authorities on Crete are struggling to provide basic services, using temporary facilities to house migrants, primarily from Somalia, Sudan, Egypt and Morocco, according to island officials. [AP]