JO Hermes – situational update

Between January and mid-February 2012, some 130 migrants were detected in the operational area of JO Hermes, south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. The migrants, Tunisian and Somali nationals, used small and medium-sized rubber boats to reach Italy. This is a dramatic decrease in detections in comparison with the same period in 2011 when over 5000 Tunisians had arrived on Lampedusa by mid-February.

In 2011 the migratory flow triggered the launch of Joint Operation (JO) Hermes, which began on 20 February 2011 and will continue until the end of 2012.