New Italian ship joins UNIFIL navy fleet in Lebanon

A new multi-role Italian ship, Andrea Doria, joined the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force fleet on Wednesday, carrying 237 Italian peacekeeping soldiers on board. A ceremony on the occasion was held at Beirut Port, attended by Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, General Paulo Sierra, alongside Lebanese armed forces' representatives; as well as diplomats and officers from UNIFIL contributing countries. In his welcoming word marking the event, Sierra praised Italy's long-time, important contribution to UNIFIL's Maritime Task Force since its deployment in October 2006; namely in support of Lebanese Naval Forces' mission in preventing unauthorized weapons or related material from entering Lebanon by sea, and in of training Lebanese Navy soldiers. "Italy participated in the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force 4 times since 2006, before withdrawing its naval forces in 2010," noted Sierra. A brief overview was distributed to attendees during the ceremony, summarizing the work of the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force in leading "a dual mission of naval interdiction operations and training of Lebanese Navy soldiers." It is to note that with the new Italian ship joining the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force fleet, the latter is now comprised of a total of 9 ships, namely: Bangladesh (2 ships), Brazil (flagship), Germany (2 ships), Greece (1 ship), Indonesia (1 ship), Italy (1 ship) and Turkey (1 ship).