Border policemen
on board of Stefan cel Mare ship MAI 1105, deployed in Italy within
a Joint Maritime Operation, AENEAS 2013, coordinated by FRONTEX
rescued other 298 Syrian migrants, out of which 114 were children,
found on a fishing boat.
In August and September, RBP ship detected in the Italian
territorial waters, other four boats with 486 Syrian migrants on
board.
At the beginning of this month, the Romanian ship detected and
retained a suspect ship which following the investigations carried
out by the Italian authorities, proved to be a "mother ship",
involved in the transport of hundreds of irregular migrants to
Italy.
The main purpose of the Joint Maritime Operation AENEAS 2013 is to
counter illegal migration at the EU maritime external borders.
At the end of last week, Stefan cel Mare ship, which was deployed in patrol mission within the Joint Maritime Operation, AENEAS 2013, coordinated by FRONTEX Agency (European Agency for the Management of the Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union), based on information from the International Coordination Center (ICC) from Rome, launched a SAR operation in the Italian territorial waters.
Within this operation, a boat overloaded with migrants moving towards the Italian coast at a low speed was detected.
The Romanian ship approached it and it was established that on board there were 300 migrants who reported that there is also a deceased for two days on board.
Due to unfavourable weather conditions, the sea was very choppy with waves exceeding 2 - 3 meters, the transfer of migrants on board of "Stefan cel Mare" ship could not be carried out safely. Consequently, the border policemen informed the International Coordination Center of Frontex Agency and it was decided to tow the fishing vessel and to deploy a helicopter with paramedics to assist the rescue operation and to grant medical assistance to the migrants.
The Romanian Border Police ship towed the boat with migrants towards the port and in its vicinity the migrants were safely transferred on the ships of the Coast Guard from Italy.
On board of the ship there were 298 persons - 130 men, 54 women and 114 minors, who declared that they were Syrian and that they tried to reach the Schengen area. A person deceased for two days was also found on board.
Upon the end of the rescue operation, Stefan cel Mare ship MAI 1105 resumed its mission within the Frontex operation.
We recall that in the months of September and August 2013, border policemen on board of Stefan cel Mare ship MAI 1105, in mission in Italy, rescued within the same operation 486 Syrian migrants who were travelling in four overloaded and adrift boats. Moreover, within Aeneas 2013, the Romanian ship detected and retained a suspect ship which following the carried out investigations proved to be a "mother ship", involved in the transport of hundreds of irregular migrants to Italy.