Operation Sea Guardian is a

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(NATO) maritime security operation taking place in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. In July 2016, at the Warsaw Summit, NATO announced the transition of the Article 5 counter-terrorism

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral benefit ...

into a broader mission in the Mediterranean. Operation Sea Guardian was launched in November 2016 and succeeded Operation Active Endeavour.

Tasks

Operation Sea Guardian is an expanded mission of maritime situational awareness, counter-terrorism at sea, and support to capacity-building missions. The mission is led by the Allied Maritime Command in Northwood, United Kingdom. If specifically tasked to do so, Sea Guardian can also preserve freedom of navigation, conduct maritime interdiction, counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and protect critical infrastructure.

French withdrawal

On 10 June 2020 the French frigate , flagship of the Sea Guardian force, was illuminated by targeting radar as it attempted to approach the Tanzanian-flagged cargo ship, ''Çirkin'', under

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

escort. ''Courbet'' was acting on the belief that the cargo ship may have been attempting to break the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

arms embargo on Libya. The Turkish government has denied the French accusation and demanded an apology, stating the cargo ship was carrying humanitarian supplies. Previously, the Turkish Navy had also stopped a Greek frigate from

Operation Irini The European Union Naval Force Mediterranean Operation IRINI (EUNAVFOR MED IRINI) was launched on 31 March 2020 with the primary mission to enforce the United Nations arms embargo to Libya due to the Second Libyan Civil War. Operation IRINI is a ...

from searching the ship. On 21 September 2020, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

sanctioned the Turkish maritime company Avrasya Shipping which operates the freighter ''Çirkin'', because the vessel was found to have violated the arms embargo in Libya in May and June 2020.

References

{{mil-stub Sea Guardian Sea Guardian Mediterranean Sea Military operations of the 21st-century Turkey and NATO France–Turkey relations

Tasks

French withdrawal

See also

References