European Union starts operation to seize migrants’ boats at sea
Led by the Italian flagship Cavour, the flotilla also includes two German and a British, French and Spanish warship each.
Operation Sophia will allow navy personnel to board, search, seize and divert vessels suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking in worldwide waters at least 12 nautical miles off the Libyan coast.
A WARSHIP in Portsmouth has joined a military operation to catch traffickers smuggling migrants across the Mediterranean and into Europe. The operation, named Sophia after a baby born a migrant ship before being rescued, requires European ships to stay in global waters, but officials hope that they eventually will receive permissions to enter a few foreign waters to intercept ships closer to shore.
But more than 2,600 deaths at sea have taken place in the Mediterranean between North Africa and Italy, a far higher total than the 254 between Turkey and Greece, according to the organization.
On board the Werra, one of the German ships taking part, the 100-person strong crew has already carried out several exercises, including a simulation of an attack carried out by traffickers, to which they responded by opening fire.
The European Union launched the first phase of its operation, called EUNavfor Med, in June, using naval surveillance to detect smugglers’ boats and monitor trafficking patterns from Libya towards Italy and Malta.
“The most efficient method of shutting down smugglers – a goal we agree with – is to eliminate the need for their services by providing safe and legal channels to Europe”, Diedring said.
The last time the leaders of France and Germany stood together in parliament was 26 years ago when Francois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl gave a similar speech just weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall.