CHANGE OF THE EUNAVFOR MED IRINI FORCE COMMANDER IN SOUDA NAVAL BASE
Today, on the 4th of April, in Souda Naval Base, on board the Hellenic frigate AEGEAN, the ceremony of change of Command of the EUNAVFOR MED IRINI Task Force, chaired by the Operation Commander, Rear Admiral Valentino RINALDI, took place.
The Italian Rear Admiral, Alessandro DI BIASI, appointed by the European Union’s Political and Security Committee (PSC), succeeded the Hellenic Commodore Prokopios CHARITOS, who led IRINI Task Force for the past six months.
The Task Force Command rotates every six months between Italy and Greece and is responsible for the tactical command of all naval and air assets provided by EU Member States and deployed in the central Mediterranean. Italy and Greece contribute by periodically assigning the flagship from which the Force Commander (FCDR) operates, supported by a multinational staff.
During the past six months Operation IRINI monitored 2600 merchant ships transiting the area of operations through interviews (hails), conducted 40 consensual visits (friendly approaches) and 2 inspections (boardings) of ships suspected of violating the arms embargo.
Rear Admiral RINALDI thanked the Hellenic Defence and Navy, represented at the ceremony by the Deputy Chief of the Hellenic Fleet, Rear Admiral Leonidas ANAGNOSTOPOULOS, for the valuable support provided during these months of activity and expressed his great appreciation to Commodore CHARITOS and his staff for the diligence and professionalism shown. Finally, he addressed to Rear Admiral DI BIASI the most heartfelt sailor’s wishes of “fair winds and following seas” for his new challenging assignment.
The OPCDR in his greetings to the crews also highlighted: “Operation IRINI continues to support in an impartial and effective manner the implementation of the UN Security Council arms embargo on Libya, for the peace and stabilization of the country, the fight against illicit oil and human trafficking, and the development of capacity building and training initiatives in support of the Libyan maritime authorities. In addition, with the two-year extension of the EU mandate, until March 2027, a new task has been assigned to contribute to the Maritime Situation Awareness (MSA) in the area of operations to protect EU interests, with a particular focus on critical underwater infrastructure”
As of today, Rear Admiral DI BIASI will command the IRINI Task Force on board the new flagship, the Italian offshore patrol vessel MOROSINI, and will continue to carry out the tasks assigned to the Operation and ensure Maritime Security in the Mediterranean.
