In May 2020, a French warship participating in the operation intercepted the
Gabon-flagged oil tanker
Jal Laxmi off the coast of
Tobruk and stopped it from docking at the city. The vessel had not received authorization from the
Tripoli-based Libyan National Oil Corporation. Following the event, Russia raised concerns regarding the operation's authorization. On 10 June 2020, the Greek frigate
Spetsai under the command of the Irini operation attempted to inspect the
Tanzanian-flagged cargo vessel
Çirkin which was suspected of carrying arms to Libya, but was ordered to retreat after warnings from Turkish frigates accompanying the cargo vessel. According to sources, the Turkish commander's message was that "the Turkish ship is under the protection of the Turkish Republic." EU confirmed that Turkey blocked the check on the ship. Later, on 17 June 2020, France also accused Turkish ships of harassing a French warship from the NATO
Operation Sea Guardian as they tried to inspect
Çirkin and that the Turkish Navy was using their NATO call signs while accompanying Turkish vessels suspected of breaking the UN arms embargo on Libya. According to French officials, when the French ship tried to inspect the vessel, the Turkish vessel switched off its tracking system, masked its ID number and refused to say where she was going, while the Turkish frigates flashed their radar lights three times against the French warship, suggesting a missile strike was imminent. On the other hand, Turkish officials, denied that the warship was harassed and claimed that the French warship did not establish communications with the Turkish vessel during the incident and provided fuel for the Turkish vessel. At a request of France, NATO stated on 18 June that it would investigate the incident. NATO carried out three-week investigation into the incident, producing a 130-page report published on 1 July. The report did not include a "statement supporting the French claims that Turkish warships harassed the French warship by locking its radar on it". The report of NATO's investigation was never released publicly. On 21 September 2020, the EU sanctioned the Turkish maritime company Avrasya Shipping which operated the freighter
Çirkin, because the vessel was found to have violated the arms embargo in Libya in May and June 2020. On 22 November 2020, the German frigate
Hamburg, which participated in the operation, intercepted the Turkish 16,000-tonne freighter,
Rosalina-A (or
Rosaline-A), about north of the Libyan city of
Benghazi. Soldiers from the frigate boarded the Turkish freighter in order to search it but had to abandon checks and withdraw after Turkey protested. According to the German spokesman,
Hamburg had followed standard procedure by waiting four hours for approval from the flag country, and then boarding. Later, once the objection arrived, they withdrew. The German defense ministry spokesman said that "By the time the soldiers left the ship, they had not found anything suspicious." Turkey said that the search team had violated international law by not waiting for permission from Turkey, adding that the ship was carrying various materials such as food and paint. Furthermore, Turkey summoned the envoys of the European Union, Germany and Italy to Ankara in order to protest against the operation. Turkey condemned the incident, saying that Operation Irini is a biased mission that targets Turkey and the internationally recognized
Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya. European Union in an official statement said that the Operation Irini gave five hours notice to Turkey (four hours in line with the international maritime practice plus a one hour extension at the request of the Turkish Embassy in
Rome, where Operation Irini's headquarters are located). After the time elapsed and no answer has received from Turkey, the soldiers boarded the ship and started the inspection in accordance with internationally agreed procedures including NATO procedures. Later, when Turkey formally and with delay notified of its refusal to grant the permission for inspection, the search operation terminated and the soldiers left the ship. Until then, nothing suspicious has found on the ship. In addition, the statement reminded that the Irini operation is in accordance with the UN Security Council resolutions 2292 (2016) and 2526 (2020) and that the UN Security Council resolution 2292 (2016) calls upon all flag states to cooperate with inspections. These resolutions are binding for all UN member states, including Turkey. A secret EU report cited by the
Deutsche Presse-Agentur, indicated that the Turkish vessel had long been watched on suspicion of making illegal arms shipments. In addition,
Der Spiegel reported that Operation Irini's military analysts, in a report for United Nations, had previously spotted arms being unloaded in the Libyan port of
Misrata in satellite images. Furthermore, EU report's authors said that suspicious cargo was again sighted in November while the ship was docked in the Turkish port of
Ambarli. Turkish prosecutors launched an investigation into the incident on 27 November 2020, which was not expected to lead to arrests or the extradition of officials involved in the search. In July 2021, Irini's forces intercepted a Zambian-flagged vessel called MV
Gauja for being suspected of transporting illegal arms from Morocco to Libya. The Zambian government said that it does not own the vessel and that it is Russian operated. In September 2021, an Irini report revealed that Turkey refused the inspection of Turkish ships heading to Libya six times. In May 2022, Turkey refused to accept the inspection of the Turkish-flagged vessel MV
Kosovak which headed to the port of Misrata in Libya. In July 2022, Irini inspected the Equatorial Guinea-flagged vessel MV
Victory Roro and found that it breached the UN arms embargo. The vessel was suspected, since it had been identified by UN Panel of Experts of transferring military equipment in Libya before under the name MV
Luccello and the flag of the Comoros. In addition, Irini commanders asked the permission from Turkey to inspect another ship called MV
Parpali, but Turkey rejected it. Irini commanders wrote on a statement that all UN members are called by
United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to cooperate with inspections. In October 2022, the Irini commanders asked for the inspection of the Turkish-flagged vessel MV
Matilde A, which was heading to Libya, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2292 on the arms embargo on Libya, but Turkey refused again. Same month, Irini found and seized military vehicles in the merchant vessel MV MEERDIJK coming from the United Arab Emirates and heading to Libya. In the October 2022 report on Operation Irini, it was mentioned that Turkey has denied the inspection of suspect Turkish vessels on nine occasions since the launch of the operation. In March 2023, Turkey denied inspection to Turkish-flagged MV
Kosovak as requested by Irini commanders. The UN Security Council called upon all UN members to cooperate with inspections. Again, in October 2023 Turkey denied inspection to the MV
Kosovak. In November 2023, Turkey declined a request from IRINI to board and inspect the MV MATILDE A, a vessel suspected of breaching the UN arms embargo. In September 2024, Turkey once again denied Operation IRINI permission to inspect the MV MATILDE A. It was the twelfth time that Turkey denied the inspection of suspect Turkish vessels. == See also ==