Turkish ships refused inspection 6 times, says Operation IRINI

Operation IRINI, an EU-funded maritime mission focused on implementing the U.N. arms embargo on Libya, has reported that, on six occasions, Turkey “denied the consent to board and inspect suspect vessels.”

In its latest monthly report, Operation IRINI said that. since its launch, the operation “has boarded and inspected 22 suspect vessels.”

“One vessel out of 22 was diverted to a port of an EU Member State where its cargo was seized,” reads the monthly report of the EU operation.

Furthermore, Operation IRINI has investigated 858 suspect flights, 25 airports and 16 ports, and provided 36 special reports to the UN Panel of Expert on Libya, most of which referred to violations or possible violations of the arms embargo and oil smuggling activities in the west and in the east of Libya.

The operation affirmed that these results “have demonstrated IRINI’s effectiveness and impartiality.”