The boat patrols the sea east of Sicily and will remain in the area until the end of January.The Triglav's captain, frigate lieutenant Andrej Pečar, told the STA that they patrolled two areas of some 3,000 square nautical miles, spending three days at a time at sea and resting in the port of Augusta for a couple of days at a time.

The crew exchanges data and cooperates with the Italian navy through a liaison officer, he said.

Pečar believes that the chance to encounter vessels transporting migrants has increased after New Year's, as other EU military vessels have seen an increase in the number of migrant vessels attempting to reach Italy's shores.

Italy launched the Mare Nostrum campaign on 14 October after nearly 400 migrants from Africa and Syria died off the shores of Lampedusa within a week in early October 2013.