Turkey Prevents EU from Inspecting Suspected Cargo Ship

The German army confirmed today, that Turkey prevented a German force operating as part of a European Union military mission from inspecting a Turkish cargo ship believed to be transporting weapons to Libya.

A German military spokesman said that soldiers from the frigate Hamburg boarded the Turkish ship Rosalina-A overnight, but were eventually forced not to carry out inspections and withdrew after Turkey sent an objection to the European mission.

The Der Spiegel website reported that Turkey prevented the German army, which is working on the IRINI mission, from examining a suspicious cargo ship, 200 km north of the city of Benghazi, in eastern Libya, after the "IRINI" mission suspected the ship was carrying weapons being smuggled into Libya.  However, the German soldiers had to leave the ship and allow it to continue its path.

On its part, Turkey denied the whole story, confirming that the ship was carrying various materials such as food and paint and that the inspection team violated international law, by not waiting to obtain permission from the Turkish authorities.