roughly 200 kilometres off the coast of Libya, the Turkishflagged cargo ship M/V Roseline A was intercepted by the German naval frigate Hamburg. Soldiers boarded the ship and began to search it for illegal arms. When Turkey objected to the investigation, the German soldiers left the vessel -without having found any weapons. This investigation was part of EUNAVFOR MED IRINI ('Operation IRINI'), which is the EU's approach to enforcing the UN Security Council's arms embargo on Libya and the Libyan

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... Civil War. This embargo was established by Resolution 1970Resolution (2011)), with the subsequent Resolution 2292 (2016), recently renewed by Resolution 2526 (2020), being of particular relevance as it contains rules regarding the embargo's maritime enforcement. The M/V Roseline A incident caused a diplomatic, and possibly legal affair. It represents another element in the chain of events that have resulted in rising tensions between the EU and Turkey. Only recall the incident between France and Turkey in June, when a French frigate intended to investigate a Tanzanian-flagged vessel, but was allegedly hindered by three Turkish navy vessels escorting the ship, or the recent escalation of the maritime dispute between Turkey and Greece in the Aegean Sea. Notwithstanding its political consequences, the M/V Roseline A incident raises legal questions regarding the legality of non-flag State interdiction.