Operation Mare Nostrum
Operation Mare Nostrum was a year-long naval and air operation commenced by the
Italian government on 18 October 2013,[1] which rescued at least 150,000 migrants on the dangerous Mediterranean sea crossing.[2] The operation ended on 31 October 2014,[3] and was superseded by Frontex's Operation Triton
.
Operation
illegal immigrants coming from North Africa
.The operation is named after
Latin for the Mediterranean (Mare Nostrum, "Our Sea"). The European Commission provided financial support for the operation with €1.8 million from the External Borders Fund.[4] Mare Nostrum was operated by the Italian Navy and saw ships operating near the coast of Libya.[5]
The operation's
EU state.[6] The Italian government requested support from the other EU member states, but the request was declined.[7]
The operation ended on 31 October 2014
Deployed assets
The operation involved units of the Italian Navy and Italian Air Force. The navy units deployed consisted of:
- 1 amphibious assault carrier with medical and shelter facilities for the would-be migrants;[1]
- 1–2 frigates[1]
- 2 patrol vessels or corvettes with medical care;[1]
- San Marco Marine Brigade team in charge of vessels inspections and the safety of migrants on board;[1]
- coastal radar network and automatic identification system shore stations.[1]
The air units involved helicopters, one MM P180 aircraft equipped with
Camcopter S-100 unmanned aerial vehicles on board the ship San Giusto and two maritime patrol aircraft.[1] There was also one forward logistic site in Lampedusa for logistics support.[1] According to Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, the government spent about €114 million ($142 million) on Operation Mare Nostrum.[8]
Foreign contributions
Slovenia was the sole external contributor to the operation.[12] It provided its patrol vessel Triglav, which assisted in general surveillance of the waters surrounding Lampedusa from 15 December 2013 to the end of January the following year.[13]
See also
- 2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck
- 2015 Libya migrant shipwrecks
- Operation Triton
- English Channel migrant crisis
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Mare Nostrum Operation". Ministry of Defence of Italy. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ^ "IOM Applauds Italy's Life-Saving Mare Nostrum Operation: "Not a Migrant Pull Factor"". International Organization for Migration. 31 October 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ^ Ella Ide (31 October 2014). "Italy ignores pleas, ends boat migrant rescue operation". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ^ "Frontex Joint Operation 'Triton' – Concerted efforts to manage migration in the Central Mediterranean". European Commission. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ^ a b c Bodger, Julian (15 April 2015). "EU under pressure over migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ "Italy in talks with EU to share responsibility for boat migrants". Reuters. 8 July 2014.
- ^ "Italy Is About to Shut Down the Sea Rescue Operation That Saved More Than 90,000 Migrants This Year". VICE News. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ a b Ella Ide (31 October 2014). "Italy ignores pleas, ends boat migrant rescue operation". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
- ^ "The worst yet?". The Economist. 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ Kingsley, Patrick (15 April 2015). "Migrants can't be left to die in the seas of Europe". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ^ Kingsley, Patrick; Bonomolo, Alessandra; Kirchgaessner, Stephanie (19 April 2015). "700 migrants feared dead in Mediterranean shipwreck". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 14 September 2015.
- ^ "Triglav Ship nearing end of mission :: Prvi interaktivni multimedijski portal, MMC RTV Slovenija". www.rtvslo.si. Retrieved 14 September 2015.