Turkey has again refused to allow European inspectors on board a container ship bound for Libya.
The EU Navfor naval operation said on X that its Operation Irini taskforce was denied a flag state request to check the 1,119-teu Arkas Line feedership Matilde A (built 2004) in accordance with a United Nations Security Council arms embargo on the country.
AIS data shows the vessel arrived in Misrata, Libya, on Wednesday, after travelling from Gemlik in Turkey.
The EU naval operation said the UN Security Council “calls upon all UN members to cooperate with inspections”.
Arkas Line has been contacted for comment.
The Irini operation was launched in 2020, mandating the EU to carry out inspections.
But Turkey is not part of the EU.
Libyan media said this was the 12th time Turkey has prevented an Irini check.
The government has dismissed the taskforce as biased.
Irini has sought to check that no weapons were being delivered to the Government of National Unity in Libya.
Since 2020, Irini has examined more than 1,000 ships.
Dutch ship interception
In 2022, the taskforce intercepted a Dutch multipurpose cargo vessel carrying military vehicles to Libya.
The 4,400-dwt Meerdijk (built 2010) was boarded for an inspection off the coast of the African country.
Operation Irini said it was carrying cargo that represented a “possible violation” of the United Nations arms embargo.
A European military vessel operating in the central Mediterranean for Irini had detected the Meerdijk on its way to Libya.
The Netherlands, as the ship’s flag state, gave consent without delay for the inspection.
