The operating range of the EU’s Triton patrol and rescue operation will be extended to 138 nautical miles south of Sicily, the Frontex border agency said Tuesday after the signing of a new mission remit with three times the original funding and resources. Three planes, six ships, 12 patrol boats and two helicopters will now be in use.
The extended range brings Triton’s remit close to that of the highly praised Italian Mare Nostrum op which ended last year after saving some 170,000 migrants. The decision to beef up Triton was taken after a disaster claimed 800 lives off Libya.
Frontex also said it will coordinate Triton from a regional base in Sicily and will work closely with the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the Eurojust judicial cooperation unit, and Europol.
