Criminal gangs are abusing Mare Nostrum, the Italian mission aimed at saving the lives of irregular migrants crossing the Mediterranean, according to intelligence available to Frontex.

Gil Arias-Fernandez, executive director of Frontex, the EU’s border control agency, said so during a meeting of the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties Committee in Brussels.

Although he had nothing but praise for the Italian operation, he said it was a fact that traffickers were finding it easier to do their business knowing that irregular migrants were picked up by Italian boats when they left the Libyan coast.

“Since Mare Nostrum started, the number of detections of irregular immigrants increased drastically,” Mr Arias-Fernandez told MEPs.

“Criminals, of course, know about Mare Nostrum and so they are sending more people on less seaworthy vessels, supplying them with less fuel and food. Their operation has become cheaper,” he said. The number of voyages had increased too, he noted.

They are sending more people on less seaworthy vessels, supplying them with less fuel and food. Their operation has become cheaper

The result, he added, was that migrants faced higher risks if the Italian authorities did not make it in time to save them.

Speaking about the dramatic increase in the number of irregular immigrants trying to reach EU coasts, he said that if the trend observed this year persisted at the same pace, 2014 was likely to be a record-breaking year.

“We are expecting detections to surpass those of 2011, the year of the Arab Spring. The Italians sometimes report spotting as many as 50 boats at one go departing from Libya.”

According to Frontex intelligence, by the end of July about 87,000 individuals were detected on the central Mediterranean route, which covers the stretch between Libya, Lampedusa, Malta and Sicily.

A total of 18,000 migrants had been detected in the same period in 2013.

Old Tunisian fishing boats were being used. These remained off the coast as traffickers used fast dinghies departing from the Libyan shores to ferry migrants on board.

According to Frontex, the number of boats intercepted increased drastically.

Since Mare Nostrum has been covering Malta’s search and rescue area as well, the number of immigrants landing on the island dropped drastically as the vast majority are being picked up by the Italians and transferred to Sicily. As a result, Malta will be hit negatively if the Italians decide to stop the mission.

According to data gathered so far, 27 per cent of those detected on the Mediterranean route are Eritreans – mostly single young men – and 14 per cent Syrians. Their final destinations are Germany and Scandinavia.

The Italian government has been piling pressure on Brussels to take over Mare Nostrum and threatened to stop the €10 million a month operation in October.

However, Mr Arias-Fernandez said that, so far, the EU had not received any information that Italy would stop the mission and ruled out Frontex taking it over.

“We have no money to finance such a large operation and we don’t posses any vessels or personnel,” he pointed out.

Giving an indication of future plans, he said Frontex was trying to organise a new mission – to be called Triton – that would be located closer to EU shores and not in the same area as that covered by Mare Nostrum.

He said the aim was to start the short mission in November, adding that it all depended on how many member states would participate and provided Frontex managed to secure the €3 million per month budget necessary to sustain the initiative.

Talks were held last week in Rome on the technicalities of such a mission and invitations for participation by member states are expected to reach European capitals this week.

A number of MEPs urged member states to express more solidarity on this issue. Italian MEPs defended Mare Nostrum and said it was not fair their country should go it alone.

MOAS helps rescue 245 more people

The private, Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) yesterday helped rescue 245 migrants, including 45 children, after being directed to a wooden vessel by Italy’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.

A second boat carrying around 250 migrants was shadowed by MOAS for several hours until the Italian authorities were able to attend to it, the organisation said in a statement.

MOAS has assisted Italy’s Mare Nostrum mission with the rescue of more than 1,500 migrants, who all disembarked in Italy, during its first two weeks of operation.

The 40-metre vessel being used by MOAS, the Phoenix, will remain at sea for its first mission until September 14 and then embark on its second mission on September 21.

On Monday, MOAS assisted in the rescue of about 700 migrants.

www.moas.eu