Mare clausum defended a "Mare clausum" policy during the age of discovery. This was soon challenged by other European nations. From 30 BC to 117 AD the Roman Empire came to surround the Mediterranean by controlling most of its coasts. Romans started then to name this sea "mare nostrum" (Latin for "our sea"). At those times the period between November and March was considered the most dangerous for navigation, so it was declared ""mare clausum"" (closed sea), although bans on navigation were probably never enforced. In classical law the ocean was not territorial. However, since the Middle Ages maritime republics like the
Operation Mare Nostrum and Italian Air Force. The navy units deployed consisted of: The air units involved helicopters, one MM P180 aircraft equipped with FLIR, two Camcopter S-100 unmanned aerial vehicles on board "San Giusto" ship and two maritime patrol aircraft. There was also one forward logistic site in Lampedusa for logistics support. According to Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, the government spent about €114 million ($142 million) on Operation Mare Nostrum. Foreign contributions Slovenia was the sole external contributor to the operation. It provided its patrol vessel "Triglav", which assisted in general surveillance of the waters surrounding Lampedusa from December 15th, 2013