Greece is grappling with a sharp increase in sea arrivals from Libya, with the Coast Guard estimating that close to 2,000 migrants have reached Crete and the nearby islet of Gavdos since Friday, 6 July. The pace marks the most intense flow recorded in the area to date and brings total arrivals on the island this year to more than 7,000, more than triple the level of the same period in 2024, according to UNHCR data. The latest and largest incident came at dawn on 9 July, when a packed fishing vessel was located 17 nautical miles south of Gavdos in rough seas of up to 6 Beaufort. A Bahamas-flagged cargo ship, two Frontex aircraft, four merchantmen and a Greek open-sea patrol boat ferried all 520 people to safety. They are being transported to the mainland port of Lavrio for screening. Smaller rescues over the weekend involved 230 and 162 people, while hundreds more reached Crete’s southern shore unaided. Crete lacks permanent reception centres, forcing local authorities to improvise temporary shelters in Hania and Rethymno amid the peak tourist season. Officials warn that accommodation, medical care and transport capacity are close to exhaustion as fresh arrivals continue. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis convened an emergency meeting with Migration Minister Thanos Plevris ahead of a parliamentary briefing later on Wednesday. Government sources say options under consideration include suspending asylum applications for those embarking from Libya and transferring new arrivals to closed facilities on the mainland. Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and Deputy Premier Kostis Hatzidakis stressed that “Greece will not become a holding tank for irregular migration” and signalled tougher maritime surveillance. Efforts to forge regional cooperation have meanwhile hit a setback. An EU delegation led by Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner – and including ministers from Greece, Italy and Malta – was denied entry to eastern Libya on 8 July after meeting the internationally recognised government in Tripoli. The rebuff by strongman Khalifa Haftar underscores the fragile security environment on Libya’s divided coastline and complicates Europe’s bid to stem departures toward Crete and Italy.