Weekend arrivals at 5600 – all Frontex deployed assets engaged in SAR 2015-06-09 Credits: Swedish Coast Guard Last weekend some 5600 migrants were rescued in the Central Mediterranean with assistance of Spanish, Swedish, Maltese and British vessels deployed in operation Triton. Out of the 32 Search and Rescue operations launched by the Italian and Maltese SAR authorities since Friday, 22 operations are still on-going. All aircraft and vessels coordinated by Frontex were fully deployed.While most activities took place South of Sicily, an Icelandic airplane and a British ... Read more
Frontex rescues more than 1400 migrants over Easter weekend 2017-04-17 During the Easter weekend, Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, rescued more than 1400 migrants in the Central Mediterranean in 13 search and rescue operations. All vessels currently deployed in operation Triton participated in search and rescue operations in the Central Mediterranean over the holiday weekend. On Saturday, six vessels deployed by Frontex rescued more than 600 migrants.The rescue operations continued on Sunday, when the Frontex-deployed Norwegian Siem Pilot and ... Read more
Joint Operation Themis 2018-02-13 Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, has launched a new operation in the Central Mediterranean to assist Italy in border control activities. The new Joint Operation Themis replaces operation Triton, which was launched in 2014. Read more
Frontex Executive Director Saddened by Tragic Deaths of Migrants off Libyan Coast 2015-02-11 Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri expressed sadness over the tragic deaths of migrants in the Mediterranean this week and said that while the mandate of Frontex is border control, the agency would continue to do its utmost to assist the Italian authorities in the search and rescue operations to save migrants stranded at sea. “I am deeply moved by this tragedy and outraged at the smugglers who are willing to put the lives of hundreds of people at the mercy of the rough seas. The ... Read more
Border Surveillance Officer 2018-01-12 Border Surveillance Officers perform border surveillance activities as crew members on board vessels, helicopters, aircraft, patrol cars or thermo-vision vans. This means that the officers keep a look-out for any irregular or illegal activities taking place in their area of patrol. This could include detections of illegal border crossings, people smuggling, or drug-trafficking. There is always a local officer from the host member state present on their patrols.While the primary objective of ... Read more
5th Meeting of Contact Group of European Coastguard Functions hosted in Warsaw 2016-05-26 The heads of Frontex, the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) and representative of the European Commission met in Warsaw on 25 May to discuss multipurpose maritime operations and co-operation in the area of maritime surveillance, information sharing and capacity building. Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri hosted Pascal Savouret, the Executive Director of EFCA and Markku Mylly, the Executive Director of EMSA at the 5th meeting of the ... Read more
Frontex-deployed vessel brings 785 migrants to Palermo 2015-07-28 Rescued migrants aboard Siem Pilot A Frontex-deployed Norwegian vessel brought 785 migrants to the port of Palermo, Italy, on Saturday morning after three Italian coast guard vessels rescued them from a wooden boat and a rubber dinghy off the Libyan coast on Thursday. Siem Pilot, an 88-metre long offshore supply vessel is taking part in the Frontex-coordinated Operation Triton in the Central Mediterranean. Among the rescued migrants there were 133 women and 27 children. Members of the crew gave ... Read more
The Netherlands Foreign Affairs Minister visits Frontex 2015-07-09 Fabrice Leggeri and Bert Koenders On 8 July 2015, Frontex Executive Director Fabrice Leggeri welcomed the Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders in the headquarters of the Agency in Warsaw. During the meeting, the two discussed the current migratory pressure at the external borders of the European Union. “The situation in Central Mediterranean, in Greece and in Hungary is particularly concerning,” said Fabrice Leggeri. “In line with the ‘hot spot’ approach - part of the Agenda ... Read more
German helicopter deployed by Frontex helped in arrest of suspected drug smugglers 2016-07-01 A German police helicopter taking part in Frontex-coordinated operation Triton contributed to the arrest of two suspected drug smugglers off the coast of Albania earlier this week. During a patrol over the Mediterranean, the German Super Puma helicopter sighted a dinghy with what appeared to be several large packages of drugs. When the people on the boat noticed they were being monitored from the air, they changed route and threw the packages overboard. The crew of the German helicopter ... Read more
Migrants forced to board inflatable rafts at gunpoint 2015-02-12 Today the African migrants who survived the traumatic events off the coast of Libya told Frontex debriefing officers that smugglers who organised the operation forced them at gunpoint onto the inflatable rafts.The interviewed migrants were among the more than 400 people who boarded four dinghies on a beach near Tripoli on Saturday night and headed for Italy. The survivors told officials that the smugglers threatened to shoot on the spot anyone who refused to get into the four inflatable ... Read more