On 12 May the departure from the port of Porto Torres and, after a mission in the Sicilian Channel lasting over two months, the CP 291 patrol boat of the Coast Guard under the command of the first marshal NP Mariano Atzeni returned to its traditional mooring point at the quay of the Turritan port authority.
Landing late last Friday evening following the conclusion of activities on the island of Pantelleria, where it remained engaged for about 70 days as part of the naval device operating in the Sicily Channel area, the operational theater of the Frontex operation on the control of irregular migratory flows in the Mediterranean. To welcome the military, many of whom are already experts in this type of mission, were the commander of the Port Authority, Gabriele Peschiulli, with his main collaborators, and the families of the 9 crew members, together with their children, happy to embrace their loved ones again after a separation of over 2 months.
After having cast off the moorings on 12 May last, and having reached the island of Pantelleria two days later, the port of assignment during almost the entirety of the mission, the crew of the CP 291 sailed 2,504 nautical miles in the Strait of Sicily, in often unfavorable weather and sea conditions, providing assistance to 820 migrants, including 156 women and minors, often rescued by direct recovery from means unsuitable for dealing with worsening weather and sea conditions during the crossing from the North Africa towards the Sicilian coasts.
Upon arrival in port, the frigate captain Peschiulli expressed words of warm appreciation to Chief Marshal Atzeni and all crew members for the intense activity carried out in a strategic sector of the Mediterranean Sea, "for having been able to combine seafaring expertise and tireless commitment, for the contribution offered to the objective of strengthening the surveillance capacity of the Union borders with respect to migratory flows".