Regarding the completion of the gigantic operation to rescue an unruly boat with hundreds of migrants, the Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Yannis Plakiotakis stated the following:
"I express our absolute satisfaction for the successful completion of the largest rescue operation in recent years in the Mediterranean and the rescue of hundreds of our fellow human beings. The Coast Guard has once again demonstrated not only the level of its capabilities, but also that it considers saving human life a priority in its mission.
I want to congratulate the officers of the Coast Guard who planned and carried out the rescue operation, even under adverse weather conditions, but also to assure that Greece will continue to effectively protect our maritime borders, which are also the maritime borders of Europe, saving the lives of our fellow human beings and dismantling the networks of death of unscrupulous traffickers".