Complete Maritime Profile & Reviews of Matilde-A

Turkey refused to allow the European Maritime Operation IRINI team to inspect the 'Matilde A' in accordance with Security Council Resolution No. 2292/2016 on the arms embargo on Libya, which was heading to Libya.on the night of Sep 8, 2024. The operation was launched on March 31, 2020 following the first Berlin Conference on Libya. It was mandated by the European Council to carry out as its core task the implementation of the UN arms embargo on Libya in resolution 2292 of 2016 and resolution 2526 of 2020, which are binding for all EU Member States. This was the 12th time that Turkey has prevented an IRINI team from boarding a merchant ship. Turkey blames IRINI of besieging the interim Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli. The operation had shared dozens of special reports with the UN Panel of Experts on Libya. Most of these reports referred to violations or possible violations of the arms embargo and oil smuggling activities in the west and in the east of the country. The operation aims to counter illicit arms trafficking, supporting the implementation of the arms embargo on Libya based on the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to gather intelligence on oil smuggling, in particular its impact on the Libyan economy and its possible use to finance the arms market; to contribute to the disruption of the business model of migrant smuggling by gathering intelligence by air and sharing it with Frontex and relevant national authorities; to support the development of the search and rescue capacity of relevant Libyan institutions through training.

On Nov 1, 2015, short past midnight the "Matilde A" was in collision with the product tanker "Akdeniz" off Constanta. The ships were within the fairway with pilots on board, sailing in stormy conditions.The "Matilde A" suffered a breach of 2,5 x 2 meters four centimeters below the waterline on starboard side in the ballast tank area. The "Matilde A" which had left Constanta on Oct 31 at 3.40 a.m. returned to port and berthed at the Socep Terminal. Also the "Akdeniz" which had sailed at 10 p.m. berthed in Constanta after the accident.