Ankara blocks German frigate from inspecting suspicious Turkish ship

Defence Redefined

Published on 23/11/2020 at 15:03

Ankara has blocked a German frigate, part of the European Union’s IRINI mission, from inspecting a suspicious Turkish cargo ship off Libya, the magazine “Der Spiegel” reports today. Turkey, the magazine adds, does not hide its support for the government of Tripoli and continues to send weapons and mercenaries to Libya.

According to the magazine, as part of the European mission to monitor the arms embargo on Libya, the German frigate “Hamburg” was ordered to inspect the Turkish cargo ship “Rosaline A”, for which there was a suspicion for carrying weapons. At the last minute, the inspection was prevented, after a strong protest by the Turkish government, which stated that it did not give its approval. It is characteristic that the German inspectors had already boarded “Rosaline A” and were forced to leave without doing anything, while the ship continued her voyage to the port of Misrata.

As the magazine points out, Turkey “does not hide the direct support of the internationally recognized government of Tripoli and sends weapons and mercenaries by ships and planes. Operation IRINI, however, is almost powerless without Ankara’s co-operation.” In the summer, German forces again located a cargo ship heading for Libya. The suspicion that the ship was carrying weapons was immediately confirmed, as a specific type of kerosene was found, which is used only for fighter jets.

Also read: The “SPETSAI” frigate is monitoring a suspicious ship carrying weapons

A Turkish cargo ship, heading for Libya, was intercepted and inspected by a German frigate, broadcast Turkish media

A Turkish cargo ship was intercepted and then inspected in the Mediterranean by German military as part of the European mission which has undertaken to control the arms embargo imposed on Libya, Turkish media reported today. 

According to the Turkish state news agency Anadolu, a German frigate, which has been deployed as part of the European operation “Irini”, intercepted the Turkish ship, which was heading to the Libyan port of Misrata last Sunday night off the Peloponnese. 

Armed soldiers boarded “Rosalina-A” from a helicopter, according to stunning images broadcast by the NTV news network, and then took control of the bridge. 

The German military inspected the ship all night, but found only biscuits and paint, Anadolu claimed, according to which the ship was carrying humanitarian material. The Turkish ship continued its course this morning after the withdrawal of the military, according to the state Turkish agency. 

However, the German Ministry of Defence clarified today that the inspection of “Rosalina-A” was suspended without completion, because Turkey protested to the EU mission that the German military violated international law because they did not wait for Turkey’s authorization.

Also read: Germany sends frigate to Mediterranean to control arms embargo on Libya