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Norway to send vessel for Mediterranean patrol, rescue operations

Xinhua, May 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Norway said Friday that it will send a vessel to participate in EU-led patrol and rescue operations in the Mediterranean to alleviate deteriorating migration crisis in the region.

"The Government is strengthening the Norwegian efforts in the Mediterranean by sending the vessel Siem Pilot and personnel to participate in Joint Operation Triton," Prime Minister Erna Solberg was quoted as saying in a press release.

Joint Operation Triton is a security operation conducted by Frontex, the European Union's border security agency, to patrol the borders and help save lives in the Mediterranean.

The Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and the Norwegian Defense Logistics Organization, has decided to charter the vessel Siem Pilot from Siem Offshore, an international offshore and subsea shipping company, from a total of 48 offers.

According to the Norwegian government's plan, the vessel will be chartered from May 20 and then it will be fitted with the necessary equipment in order to be ready to sail from Norway by the end of the month. The vessel has initially been chartered for six months.

Estimated sailing time from Norway to Italy is 10 to 14 days, during which time the crew and the personnel from the police and the armed forces will train for the tasks they will be carrying out in the Mediterranean.

"The situation in the Mediterranean is grave and calls for a joint European effort," Solberg said. "The Government considers it important that Triton has the capacity, the mandate and the area of operation necessary to be able to save lives."

"We are therefore positive to the current dialogue between Frontex and a number of countries to expand the operational plan for Triton ... By strengthening the capacity of operation Triton, we can save more lives," she added.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a record 219,000 people crossed the Mediterranean in 2014 in smugglers' boats and 3,500 died, around half of these people were refugees fleeing war and persecution.

So far in 2015, UNHCR estimated that some 62,500 people have made the crossing, and at least 1,800 have died. Endit