The European Union’s Operation IRINI said in a monthly report for December 2023 that it had continued to investigate vessels and conduct operations in support of the United Nations (UN) arms embargo on Libya.
The monthly report that was published by the Operation indicated that its teams had investigated 116 merchant vessels via radio calls (out of 12,606), boarded and inspected four suspect vessels with Masters’ consent (out of 597), monitored 26 suspect flights (out of 1336), and continued to monitor 25 airports and 16 ports, as well as oil terminals.
“The Operation boarded and inspected 26 suspect vessels, seized three cargos assessed to be in violation of the UN arms embargo and diverted the vessels to a port of an EU Member State, provided 49 special reports to the UN Panel of Expert on Libya (Most of these referred to violations or possible violations of the arms embargo and oil smuggling activities in the west and in the east of the country), and issued 83 recommendations for inspection of suspect vessels in EU Member States’ ports to the relevant Law Enforcement agencies, of which 65 were conducted.” The report explained.
Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI was launched on 31 March, 2020 by the EU (to replace Operation Sophia). It aimed to implement the UN arms embargo on Libya. IRINI indicated that it was part of the European integrated approach to Libya, which included political, military, economic and humanitarian efforts to bring stability and security to the country.
