UNIFIL Force Commander reviews the troops during the MTF Transfer of Authority on 01 March 2009 (AFP photo Joseph Barrack).

The handover ceremony was held aboard the flagship FS De Grasse at the International Port of Beirut in the presence of UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Claudio Graziano, Commander EUROMARFOR Vice Admiral Giuseppe Lertora, senior officers of the Lebanese Armed Forces and other dignitaries.

 

To mark the handover, outgoing MTF Commander Rear Admiral Jean-Louis Kerignard of France presented a United Nations Flag to Rear Admiral Jean-Thierry Pynoo from Belgium, who is now in charge of UNIFIL's maritime operations.

 

Addressing the ceremony Major-General Graziano noted the progressive enhancement of operational cooperation between the MTF and the Lebanese Navy.

 

"In the process, UNIFIL's MTF and the Lebanese Navy have developed a constructive, professional relationship which is vital to the successful implementation of our mandate," he added.

 

UNIFIL MTF is the first Naval Task Force that has ever taken part in a United Nations peacekeeping mission. The deployment of MTF in October 2006, upon the request of the Lebanese Government, was a landmark move that prompted Israel to lift its naval blockade of Lebanon.

The MTF has since been assisting the Lebanese Navy in securing the country's 200 kilometres of coastline in order to help in preventing the unauthorized entry of arms or related material by sea into Lebanon.

 

So far 12 countries have contributed naval units to the MTF: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Turkey. The incoming flagship BNS Leopold I previously served as part of the MTF during August-December 2008.

 

Following today's changeover, UNIFIL's Maritime Task Force will consist of the following vessels:

Belgium (1 ship), Germany (3 ships), Greece (1 ship), Italy (1 ship), Turkey (1 ship). One Indonesian naval vessel will join the MTF on 15 April 2009.

 

Since the start of its operations, the MTF has hailed more than 22,000 ships and referred 240 suspicious vessels to the Lebanese authorities for further inspection.