CYIL vol. 8 (2017)

BIRUTĖ PRANEVIČIENĖ – VIOLETA VASILIAUSKIENĖ CYIL 8 ȍ2017Ȏ operation Triton, the operational area of which covers the territorial waters of Italy, as well as parts of the search and rescue zones of Italy and Malta, stretching 138 nautical miles south of Sicily. 5 Another EU mission conducted under the Common Security and Defence Policy, is mission EUNAVFOR MED Sophia 6 , which conducts its operations within the Libyan SAR area, but outside Libyan territorial waters. The commercial ships crossing the area are also obliged to conduct SAR operations. The master of such a ship is obliged “to render assistance to any person found at sea in danger of being lost”. 7 Most of the commercial ships mainly cross the Central Mediterranean in waters close to Sicily, Malta and North-eastern Tunisia, the majority of rescue operations carried out by such vessels take place here. 8 And finally, NGOs active in the area operate both in the Libyan SAR area and inside Libyan territorial waters. 9 To illustrate the extent of the contribution of the particular actors, and the shift thereof, it can be noted that“[i]n 2014, the Italian Navy and Custom Police (51%) and the Italian Coast Guard (23%) together represented three quarters of rescue efforts. Merchant ships crossing the area (25%) represented the broad remainder of the efforts”, 10 but in 2016: a total of nine NGOs have a fleet of fourteen ships and two drones conducting SAR activities. As a result, NGOs were responsible for as many as 22% of all rescues in the Central Mediterranean in 2016. Still the dominant actors, the Italian Navy and Custom Police (26%) and the Italian Coast Guard (20%) together represented a little less than half of rescue efforts. Rescues by merchant marine vessels declined significantly, to 8% while EU operations Triton and EUNavFor Sophia accounted for 25% of rescues. 11 Search and Rescue Operations in Mediterranean “The search for and rescue of persons in distress is a centuries-old, time-honoured tradition.” 12 The obligations of all ships crossing seas regarding persons in distress are outlined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Article 98. The Convention stipulates that 5 The primary focus of Joint Operation Triton, which was launched by Frontex in November 2014, is border control and surveillance. It also conducts search and rescue operations. Furthermore, the operational focus of Triton has been expanded to also include the contributions to the detections of drug smuggling, illegal fishing and maritime pollution. A total of 26 EU countries contribute to the mission. FRONTEX. Joint Operation Triton (Italy) 2017 http://frontex.europa.eu/pressroom/hot-topics/joint-operation-triton-italy--ekKaes accessed 30 May 2017. 6 “The mission core mandate is to undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and dispose of vessels and enabling assets used or suspected of being used by migrant smugglers or traffickers, in order to contribute to wider EU efforts to disrupt the business model of human smuggling and trafficking networks in the Southern Central Mediterranean and prevent the further loss of life at sea.” Since 20 June 2016, the Council added two supporting tasks to the mission‘s mandate: training of the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy; and contributing to the implementation of the UN arms embargo on the high seas off the coast of a Libya. European External Action Service. About EUNAVFOR MED Operation SOPHIA. 01 March 2016 https://eeas.europa.eu/csdp-missions- operations/eunavfor-med/36/about-eunavfor-med-operation-sophia_en accessed 30 May 2017. 7 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982. U.N.T.S. 1833, Article 98 (1). 8 EUROPEAN COMMISSION, supra note 2, p. 3. 9 According to the European Commission, (see supra note 2) nine groups were operating in the Mediterranean, as of February 2017: Médecins Sans Frontières, Sea-Watch, Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), SOS Mediterranée, Pro-Activa, Sea-Eye, Jugend Rettet, Refugee Boat Foundation, Save the Children. 10 EUROPEAN COMMISSION, supra note 2, p. 4. 11 Ibid. 12 BUTTON, Rick. International Law and Search and Rescue. Naval War College Review Winter 2017 , Vol. 70, No. 1, p. 25.

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