Almost 24 hours since the Norman Atlantic ferry transmitted a Mayday, the “Navarino” frigate is expected to arrive on scene.

The frigate was on mission in the eastern Aegean Sea when it was ordered to sail north of Corfu to provide assistance to almost 500 people on board the Italian ship “Normal Atlantic”. The War Navy states that the frigate is expected to be in the area where the Italian ship is being towed at about 5 in the morning.

The area where Navarino is being directed already has two more warships, “Daniolos” and “Axios”, the latter of which will be refueling the frigate and can also be used as a temporary place for some of the passengers of the Italian passenger ferry after their evacuation from the burning ship.

The “Daniolos” gunboat also includes a team of divers from the elite Underwater Demolitions Team of the Hellenic Navy (UDT) which will be activated if necessary to help with the Norman Atlantic situation.

The Navy states that after 22:00 at night the weather around Norman Atlantic will be ameliorated since the strong southerly winds that were prevalent locally are expected to turn to milder, northern winds.