German frigates set off for the United Nations mission on the Lebanese coast

A spokesman for the naval base of the northwestern port city Wilhelmshaven said a German frigate carried 216 soldiers on a plane toward the Lebanese coast.

Family, friends and comrades bid farewell to the crew at the dock, and many onlookers came to watch and set off.

Last year, the Brandenburg frigate had served as part of the United Nations temporary force in the Mediterranean Sea in eastern Lebanon. The United Nations mission is designed to help protect maritime borders and prevent weapons smuggling and support training for the Lebanese Navy.

In a statement issued by the Navy, Captain Robert Meyer-Brenkhof, the commander of Brandenburg, said that the deployment was particularly refined given the current security situation in the Middle East.

“I look forward to a mission full of confidence and I believe this ship and the trained and motivated crew will successfully complete it,” he said.

The Navy said the ship was scheduled to be deployed for about six months and replaced the frigate Baden-Württemberg, which will then return to Wilhelmshaven.