On March 12, 2015, Italy launched the operation Safe Sea (OMS), an air-naval device aimed at ensuring maritime security in the central Mediterranean. The instability generated by the Libyan crisis of 2011 and the growing migratory phenomenon had made an intervention to protect national security and regional stability indispensable. Over the years, the operation has constantly evolved, strengthening its capabilities, adapting to new geopolitical and strategic challenges.
From the very beginning, the operation Safe Sea ensured a constant operational presence in the central Mediterranean and the Strait of Sicily, through a device that included up to six units between ships and submarines, including a unit with command and control capabilities, as well as embarked helicopters and marine brigade protection teams Saint Mark. In support of the operations, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft of the Italian Air Force were also deployed. The units employed operated with the objective of ensuring a constant presence, surveillance and maritime security activity, protecting commercial routes and countering any form of illicit activity. Other main objectives included deterrence and countering threats to SAR operations conducted by national means, the collection of information on illicit trafficking by sea, the surveillance and protection of oil platforms of national interest, and the protection of the Italian fishing fleet.
In 2018, the operation underwent a first and significant evolution with the resolution of the Presidency of the Council, which provided for the inclusion of a coastal transport motor vessel moored in the port of Tripoli. The team of specialists embarked on board this unit has carried out, over the years, technical and support activities for the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy, always in full compliance with international conventions and national sovereignty. The operation has thus contributed to strengthening Libyan maritime surveillance capacity, supporting, among other things, a series of technical activities essential for the establishment of an efficient Libyan Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (LMRCC).
In 2022, following the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and with the Mediterranean assuming an increasingly crucial role for national security, the mission evolved into its current form and name, "Safe Mediterranean", an enhanced security device that saw the expansion of the operational area from 160.000 to over 2 million square kilometers. The objectives of the mission have expanded, always ensuring the protection of maritime communication lines and the safeguarding of trade routes essential to the well-being of the Nation. A further fundamental step was the renewed and intensified commitment to monitoring and protecting critical underwater infrastructure, as part of the "Safe Seabed" operation, with particular attention to the protection of energy supply lines (gas pipelines) and strategic communication cables.
The operation Safe Mediterranean, inserted in a broader strategic framework, has become a fundamental element of maritime cooperation, operating in increasing synergy with all the actors present or passing through the Mediterranean, including the EU with the IRINI operation and NATO with its permanent naval groups, consolidating a leadership role in promoting exchange and cooperation activities and increasing, more generally, the levels of interoperability and interchangeability with the allied navies operating in the region.
The operation, by expanding its scope towards the East, has acquired an increasingly central role in the Naval Diplomacy, particularly during stops in ports in the Eastern Mediterranean. An emblematic example of this role was the period following the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which further highlighted the value of the Navy units as flexible and deployable instruments, at the service of Italian Defense and diplomacy, in the consolidation of its international presence.
As underlined by the commander in chief of the naval fleet, Admiral Aurelio de Carolis: "Today, on the tenth anniversary of the Operation born as Mare Sicuro and evolved into Mediterraneo Sicuro, the Navy renews its commitment to maritime security and the defense of national strategic interests in a maritime region of fundamental importance for global balances. OMS is constantly evolving, ready to face the challenges of the future with the professionalism, dedication and spirit of service that distinguish our sailors."
