European Union's (EU) Operation IRINI, which is tasked with monitoring ships in the Mediterranean, reported that it had radio-checked 401 commercial ships out of 17,161 suspected of carrying weapons to Libya, as part of monitoring the implementation of the imposed arms embargo.
IRINI's monthly report stated that it had carried out four visits to ships approved by its commanders, noting that the total number of ships it had inspected since the launch of the operation in March 2020 amounted to 30 suspected ships, and that it had confiscated three shipments that it deemed to be in violation of the imposed arms embargo and diverted them to the port of a European Union member state.
The operation also monitored 44 suspicious flights out of a total of 1,698 flights, in addition to monitoring 25 airports and runways as well as 16 ports and oil terminals during the month of December.
The operation submitted 65 special reports to the UN Panel of Experts on Libya, most of which were related to violations or potential violations of the arms embargo and oil smuggling activities in the western and eastern parts of the country, and issued 92 recommendations for the inspection of suspicious vessels in EU member state ports to police authorities, 72 of which were implemented.