Operation Mare Nostrum by Frontex's Operation Triton, which operates a smaller search and rescue capability. Unlike Mare Nostrum, Operation Triton focused on border protection rather than search and rescue, and operates closer to the Italian coast The termination of Mare Nostrum has been criticized as a cause of the increased death rate among migrants to Europe in the Mediterranean, which increased tenfold between 2014 and 2015. Two major migrant shipwreck disasters which together killed more than 1000 people within the span of a week in April 2015 led to calls to renew the operation. The operation involved the units of the Italian Navy
Operation Mare Nostrum €1.8 million from the External Borders Fund. Mare Nostrum was operated by the Italian Navy and saw ships operating near the coast of Libya. The operation's search and rescue component is claimed by advocacy groups like the European Council on Refugees and Exiles to have saved thousands of lives, but the operation was politically unpopular and extremely costly for just one EU state. The Italian government had requested additional funds in order to continue the operation, from the other EU member states, but they did not offer the requested support. The operation ended on 31 October 2014 and was superseded