From a press release of the PIZ Marine at the Rostock Naval Command:
On Friday, 20 October 2023 at 10 a.m., the frigate "Baden-Württemberg" will be the first ship in its class to set sail on a mission. She will leave her home port of Wilhelmshaven with the crew "Delta" to take part in the mandated foreign mission UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) off the Lebanese coast.
Under the command of frigate captain Tilmann von der Lühe (44), the crew will initially embark on a transit to Limassol (Cyprus). From here, the ship will remain in service until mid-January 2024.
Access?
As far as I know, Unifil does not "prevent" anything off the coast; at most, it reports suspected cases to the Lebanese forces. As usual, you don't find out what may or may not happen.
Or is that no longer the state of affairs?
Dear Mr Falkenstein,
The mere presence in the sea area already prevents illegal transports - at least to a certain extent. An international visualisation of suspicious movements and information about them to national Lebanese authorities do more to create transparency. However, there is currently a completely different danger hanging in the air in the sea area off the Lebanese-Israeli border: if Hizbollah starts attacking Israeli territory, the sea area will not be exempt! The aircraft carrier "Gerald R. Ford" is already in the area with a considerable force array, the second carrier, the "Dwight D. Eisenhower" is on its way. And now also our frigate "Baden-Württemberg", which is leaving these days to reinforce the UNIFIL forces in the area.
Yours sincerely
the editors of marineforum.online