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Finnish vessel joins EU's border patrol in Mediterranean

Xinhua, January 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Finnish Border Guard said on Thursday that it has sent the patrol vessel Merikarhu and its crew to join the EU's joint border security operation in the Mediterranean.

The operation named Poseidon Rapid Intervention mission was launched by the EU borders agency Frontex in the end of 2015 to replace the ongoing Joint Operation Poseidon Sea with a larger number of officers and technical equipment to support Greece in curbing the unprecedented number of migrants arriving on its islands.

The Finnish vessel Merikarhu is one of the 15 patrol ships deployed by Frontex.

The main objective of the mission is to improve security on the maritime border between Greece and Turkey, in particular, to monitor the borders and to ensure the efficient management of illegal entries, said the Finnish Border Guard.

According to the UN Refugee Agency, in 2015 more than 1 million refugees crossed the Mediterranean into Europe. Endit