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Royal Navy Deploying RFA Mounts Bay to Patrol Aegean Sea Against Migrant Traffickers

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Maritime Security News - UK, Migrant Crisis
 
 
 
Royal Navy Deploying RFA Mounts Bay to Patrol Aegean Sea Against Migrant Traffickers
 
British Prime Minister has announced that naval ship Mounts Bay will support the international response to the migrant crisis in the Aegean Sea. As the Prime Minister attends an EU summit on the migration crisis, the Royal Navy is deploying amphibious landing ship royal fleet auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay alongside 2 border force cutters to join the NATO mission in the Aegean Sea that aims to reduce the flow of migrants from Turkey to Europe.
     
British Prime Minister has announced that naval ship Mounts Bay will support the international response to the migrant crisis in the Aegean Sea. As the Prime Minister attends an EU summit on the migration crisis, the Royal Navy is deploying amphibious landing ship royal fleet auxiliary (RFA) Mounts Bay alongside 2 border force cutters to join the NATO mission in the Aegean Sea that aims to reduce the flow of migrants from Turkey to Europe.
RFA Mounts Bay, supported by a Wildcat helicopter, is expected to start operations in the coming days – identifying smugglers taking migrants to Greece and passing the information to the Turkish coastguard so they can intercept these boats. Picture: Royal Navy
     
They will be supported by 3 border force boats – VOS Grace which is already in the Aegean; the cutter Protector which is on its way to the region and a further Border Force cutter that is expected to start operations later this month.

With migrant arrivals in Greece still averaging 1,800 a day in February and over 116,000 arrivals across the Aegean already this year, European countries are stepping up their efforts with Turkey to break the business model of the people smuggling criminal gangs which are exploiting people and putting lives at risk every day.

At an EU summit in Brussels today, the Prime Minister will call on European partners to focus on 3 priorities:

Breaking the link between getting on a boat and getting resettlement in Europe by smashing the trafficking gangs and increasing the return of illegal migrants

Supporting Turkey, already hosting 2.6 million migrants and with many more sheltering on its border with Syria

Providing technical assistance to Greece so it can accelerate the processing of migrant claims and return illegal migrants to their countries of origin