The spokesperson for the UNIFIL forces, Andrea Tenenti, confirmed in response to a question from the National News Agency about the role of the UNIFIL naval force, following remarks made by former Lebanese Defense Minister Yaacoub Sarraf in various media reports regarding the Rosous ship and UNIFIL's ability to conduct inspections on ships entering Lebanese territorial waters. He stated, "We at UNIFIL do not comment on media reports, but allow me to clarify the role of the UNIFIL naval force and its activities in supporting the Lebanese navy."
He said, "The UNIFIL naval force is celebrating its seventeenth anniversary on October 15, since 2006, and has supported the Lebanese naval force in several specific responsibilities, including monitoring Lebanese territorial waters, securing the coastline, and preventing the unauthorized entry of weapons by sea."
Tenenti added, "The UNIFIL naval force primarily supports the Lebanese navy by calling on ships entering Lebanese waters. This calling is a process of contacting incoming ships to verify the information provided by the ship regarding itself and its cargo with publicly available maritime databases. The Lebanese navy also calls on ships, as the role of the UNIFIL naval force is to provide support."
He continued, "There may be a need for additional measures after calling the ship, for example, if some information is missing or does not match what is listed in the public database, or if the ship does not appear on the list of ships expected to pass through or enter or leave Lebanese territorial waters on a particular day. In this case, the ship can be referred to the Lebanese authorities for inspection. Inspections and boarding of the ship can be conducted by the Lebanese navy or other security agencies, or customs officials, but this is left to the Lebanese authorities to decide."
Tenenti added, "Lebanon is a sovereign state, thus only Lebanese authorities can decide whether to conduct an inspection or allow the ship to dock at a Lebanese port. The UNIFIL naval force is ready to provide support in these tasks, but the Lebanese authorities have never requested it; therefore, the UNIFIL naval force has never actually inspected any ship. The UNIFIL naval force does receive information about the outcomes of any inspections, but it does not receive information about the nature of any materials found unless there is a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701."
The UNIFIL spokesperson noted that "the UNIFIL naval force supports the Lebanese navy in training in various aspects of maritime security, and this training is conducted at the request of the Lebanese navy and according to their needs."
Tenenti concluded, "The ultimate goal under Resolution 1701 is for the Lebanese navy to eventually take on all responsibilities related to maritime security on its own, without support from the UNIFIL naval force. In 2022, the UNIFIL naval force transferred command of maritime interception operations to the Lebanese navy, which now decides which ships should be referred to the Lebanese authorities for inspection."
