DAKAR, Senegal, Nov 20, (AP): As dawn arrived off the coast of Senegal, navy commander Assane Seye scanned the horizon. He is captain of the Niani, one of three new patrol vessels tasked with patrolling waters off the West African nation in search of a rapidly growing number of vulnerable boats carrying migrants on one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.

Dozens of people pile onto the wooden fishing vessels known as pirogues and risk their lives on a journey toward Spain's Canary Islands, which have become the preferred landing point for West African migrants dreaming of a better life in Europe. The Associated Press had rare access to one of the navy's night patrols. At a glance, Seye and his colleagues can tell whether a boat is out for fishing or for migration. The number of people crammed on board is their clue. "Since Jan. 1, 2024, the navy has saved 4,780 people,” he said. That's up from 2023.

Oumar Ndiaye, a lieutenant, said they intercepted a wooden boat with more than 200 people on board a month ago. "There were a large number of people on this pirogue in really difficult conditions, who had already spent two or three days at sea," he said. Intercepting such boats is a humanitarian mission, he added. Seye said the navy is obliged to get the migrants to safety, whether they call for help or not.

"All that has to happen is a weather change, or one wrong move taken by the captain, for the pirogue to turn over and for people to be in danger,” he said. The patrol teams bring the migrants on board and take them to shore. Once there, they are free to walk away - and perhaps try again. But if they're from another country, they are repatriated.

Until recently, the Mediterranean was the main migrant route from West Africa to Europe. But the European Union has sent money to Libya and Tunisia, popular departure points in North Africa, aiming to curb migration from there. Now the route via the Canary Islands is well-traveled. As of June, the number of "irregular” migrants landing in Spain was almost double that of the same period in 2023, according to the Spanish interior ministry.