Use the navy to stop migrants

As everyone knows, most EU countries have formidable navies which at the moment, having no major naval action to speak of, are just being paid by their respective government to play at being sailors.

What could solve the current crisis as regards illegal immigration into Europe would be to utilise these navies to carry out patrols, on a regular basis, just outside Libyan territorial waters, checking every suspicious vessel and turning back those found to be carrying illegal immigrants.

This would prevent the illegal immigrants from wandering too far offshore, thus saving their lives, and would foil the racketeers who are probably making a handsome profit out of the misery of their fellow humans.

Warships would do a short term and be replaced by other vessels so as to keep the blockade going round the clock. The cost of keeping up such a patrol would be offset by the saving each government would make by not having to feed, house and clothe all the illegal immigrants.

This is definitely not something new, as similar blockades, albeit much more difficult and dangerous, have been carried out by various navies throughout history. Considering today's technology and the speed of modern vessels this would be child's play compared to what, for example, the British Navy had to face during the Napoleonic wars.