Coast Guard sources explain the reason why a thermal camera was not used following the collision between a Coast Guard vessel and a speedboat that resulted in the death of 15 people off the coast of Chios. Coast Guard sources clarified that the vessel involved in the Chios incident “is equipped with a thermal camera (electro-optical thermal imaging sensor) which is used as an auxiliary tool in combination with radar for detecting and identifying targets in the maritime field“.
Chios: The speedboat had already been detected by land-based surveillance camera
Regarding why it was not used in this specific case, sources referred to the captain’s statement that this was not done because its use was not deemed necessary by him. The reason was, according to the same sources, that the speedboat carrying the migrants “had already been detected by land-based surveillance camera as well as visually using a spotlight“.
