German Navy’s K130 corvette FGS Braunschweig is returning from a 13-month deployment to UNIFIL and is expected to enter her Warnemünde navy base on June 14.
During her deployment, the corvette changed crews two times and sailed a total of 41,600 nautical miles.
FGS Braunschweig was replaced by sister ship FGS Magdeburg which assumed her duties on May 31.
In addition to Germany, UNIFIL’s maritime task group was composed of units from Brasil, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey and Greece.
Apart from training evolutions with NATO units, sailors aboard FGS Braunschweig also took part in training activities with Lebanon Navy sailors and the Cypriot search and rescue service.
During their time off the coast of Lebanon, sailors also visited the harbors of Rota (Spain), Limassol (Cyprus), Beirut (Lebanon), Barcelona and Vigo (Spain).
The Maritime Task Force of UNIFIL was and is the only naval force led by the United Nations. Since 2006, navies have been helping the Lebanon government secure its sea border and prevent weapon smuggling from the sea. Since the beginning of the operation more than 68,000 ships were checked and around 7,200 vehicles led to the ports of Beirut, Sidon and Tripoli for further checks.
Braunschweig (F 260) is the first of five K130 corvettes built for the German Navy by TKMS. The 89 meter ship was launched in April 2006 and commissioned into the navy two years later, in April 2008.