The Romanian Border Police continues the support provided in the international operations aiming at the surveillance of the EU external borders and which are coordinated by FRONTEX European Agency through the deployment of the maritime ship “Ştefan cel Mare” within the Coast Guard together with the crew onboard in the Joint Maritime Operation “Poseidon Rapid Intervention” which is developing at the external borders of Greece. Within the same operation, the Border Police participated, for two months, with the ship of the Coast Guard MAI 1104, when more than 700 persons in danger of drowning in the Aegean Sea were rescued. This is the second international mission carried out this year by the admiral ship of the Border Police which, during January – March, monitored the Italian borders and rescued approximately 1.000 persons in danger on the Mediterranean Sea.
The patrol and intervention ship “Ştefan cel Mare” – OPV type within the Coast Guard - departed on Sunday, May 29th, to the external maritime border of the Hellenic Republic in order to participate in the Joint Maritime Operation “Poseidon Rapid Intervention” organized under FRONTEX aegis (European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union).
The operation will take place in the Aegean Sea for one month and a half; the patrol and intervention ship and the crew consisting of 25 border guards will develop surveillance and control missions and, also, search and rescue missions at the external borders of the European Union together with the other EU MS participating in the mission.
This is the second international mission carried out this year by the admiral ship of the Romanian Border Police which, during 27.12.2015 – 05.04.2016 participated in the Joint Maritime Operation “TRITON 2016” organized by FRONTEX Agency which took place at the maritime border in the South of Italy.
During these three months, the Romanian border guards rescued and transferred 995 persons (children, women and men) onboard of the ship, who were in danger of drowning on the inflatable boats sailing on the Mediterranean Sea. In all the cases, the specific procedures onboard of the Romanian ship were carried out (sorting and medical examination), and subsequently the persons involved were transported to the Italian ports and handed over to the authorities in order to carry out the specific procedures.
At the same time, at the beginning of June 2016, the maritime patrol ship of the Coast Guard MAI 1104 which was in mission for two months (April - May) in Greece within the Joint Maritime Operation “Poseidon Rapid Intervention” coordinated by FRONTEX Agency will return to Romania. During the deployment, the crew of the Romanian Border Police ship carried out 50 missions and participated in 14 search and rescue operations and rescued, transshipped, transported and handed over to the Hellenic authorities in Chios port, in totally, 721 persons (199 children, 170 women, 352 men) who were in danger of drowning in the Aegean Sea.