From day one we’ve been there and attended the first call of the German Frigate Bayern.

German Navy Takes Control of Lebanese Waters – 2006

The Italian navy Sunday handed over to German command the UN naval force tasked with intercepting arms shipments along Lebanon’s coastline following the 2006 War in Lebanon.

The German Navy’s largest Frigate, the Bayern, took lead of the Bundesmarine mission.

Italy’s Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi passed command of the beefed-up force to Germany’s Admiral Andreas Krause during a ceremony aboard Italy’s flagship Garibaldi aircraft carrier in Beirut harbor.

The ceremony was also attended by United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) commander Major General Alain Pellegrini who hailed the Italians’ mission “as a real success.” 

Germany has agreed to send up to 2,400 military personnel to Lebanon in the country’s first mission in the Middle East since World War II.