Greece wants to buy a floating fence to keep migrants out

The 2.7 kilometre long (1.68 miles) netlike barrier would be set up in the sea off the island of Lesbos, where the overcrowded Moria camp operates

It will rise 50cm above sea level and carry light marks that will make it visible at night, a government document inviting vendors to submit offers said

2-MIN READ2-MIN

An overcrowded dinghy full of migrants arrives on a Greek island in 2015. Photo: DPA

Published: 6:55pm, 30 Jan 2020Updated: 6:54pm, 30 Jan 2020

Greece wants to install a floating barrier in the Aegean Sea to deter migrants arriving at its islands’ shores through Turkey, government officials said on Thursday.

Greece has served as gateway to the European Union for more than 1 million Syrian refugees and other migrants in recent years. While an agreement with Turkey sharply reduced the number attempting the voyage since 2016, Greek islands still struggle with overcrowded camps operating far beyond their capacity.

The 2.7 kilometre long (1.68 miles) netlike barrier that Greece wants to buy will be set up in the sea off the island of Lesbos, where the overcrowded Moria camp operates.

It will rise 50cm above sea level and carry light marks that will make it visible at night, a government document inviting vendors to submit offers said, adding that it was “aimed at containing the increasing inflows of migrants”. “The invitation for floating barriers is in the right direction … We will see what the result, what its effect as a deterrent will be in practice,” Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos told Skai Radio.

Refugees and migrants walk along the short following their arrival at Skala Sikamias, Lesbos island, Greece. Photo: AP

“It will be a natural barrier. If it works like the one in Evros, I believe it can be effective,” he said, referring to a cement and barbed-wire fence that Greece set up in 2012 along its northern border with Turkey to stop a rise in migrants crossing there.