German Navy corvette FGS Braunschweig is scheduled to deploy to the Mediterranean Sea to represent the German contribution to operation UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon).
The K130 corvette is set to depart its homeport in Warnemünde, Germany, on May 14, under the command of Frigate Captain Alexander Dubnitzki. Braunschweig’s previous 13-month deployment to Lebanon concluded in June 2017.
The ship is now deploying to relieve sister ship FGS Magdeburg which deployed to UNIFIL in May 2017. German Navy vessels regularly contribute to the mission, rotating in intervals that exceed 12 months at times. Another K130 corvette, FGS Erfurt pulled off 17 months deployed to UNIFIL and the Horn of Africa in 2015 and 2016. It took a total of four crew swaps to keep Erfurt deployed for 17 months.
FGS Braunschweig is deploying with the crew “Charlie” onboard and will join other UNIFIL assets after port calls in Portugal and Italy.
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.