Operation Triton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Operation Triton was an operation conducted by Frontex, the European Union's border security agency. The operation, under Italian control, began on 1 November 2014 and ended on 1 February 2018 when it was replaced by Operation Themis. It involved voluntary contributions from 15 other European nations (both EU member states and non-members). Voluntary contributors to Operation Triton included Croatia, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Switzerland, Romania, Poland, Lithuania and Malta.[1] The operation was undertaken after Italy ended Operation Mare Nostrum, a sea rescue operation for migrants which had become politically unpopular and costed the Italian government €9 million per month during the 12 months it lasted. The Italian government had requested support from the other EU member states, but the request was declined.[2]
The operation's assets consisted of two surveillance aircraft, three ships and seven teams of staff to gather intelligence and conduct screening/identification processing. Its budget was estimated at €2.9 million per month.[3]
Since the operation began, the number of migrants who drowned while crossing the Mediterranean increased dramatically, with the April 2015 Libya migrant shipwrecks resulting in over 1,000 deaths alone. The International Organization for Migration said that deaths at sea had risen nine times after the end of Operation Mare Nostrum.[5] The New York Times reported that early 2015 saw a 1600% increase in the number of migrants drowning while attempting to cross the Mediterranean as compared with the same period in early 2014.[6] In 2015, the Croatian warship Andrija Mohorovičić joined the rescue efforts.[7][8][9]
