Operation SOPHIA assets involved in several rescue activity at sea
Early this morning the EUNAVFOR MED assets were engaged in a big rescue activity at sea.
The ships SNS Triglav and HMS Enterprise were firstly requested to intervene in favour of wooden boat sailing in distress, and after few hours even HMS Richmond and FGS Berlin carried out another rescue in support of other rubber boats.
As a final result 727 migrants were rescued and transferred to the ship Siem Pilot, operating for Frontex Operation Triton, as a result of a great cooperation with all the organization involved.
The EU naval operation against human smugglers and traffickers in the Mediterranean called “EUNAVFOR MED operation SOPHIA”, was launched on the 22 of June, 2015, with the main focus on contributing to disrupt the business model of the smugglers and therefore prevent more loss of lives. The mission on October 7th entered its second phase.
Nevertheless, the obligation to assist persons in distress at sea and to deliver survivors to a place of safety is clearly stated in international conventions such as SOLAS. EUNAVFOR MED operation SOPHIA in less than four months of operations has already been involved in several rescue activities contributing to save the life of more than 4300 migrants.