BEIRUT: Rear Adm. Joese de Andrade Badeira Leandro of Brazil took over command of the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon’s Maritime Task Force Tuesday, in a ceremony onboard a ship in the Beirut harbor.
UNIFIL Commander Maj. Gen. Paolo Serra oversaw the transfer of power from Rear Adm. Wagner Lopes de Moraes Zamith to Leandro.
Praising Zamith’s work on the task force, Serra said he had increased the number of vessels referred to the Lebanese Navy for inspection, “underlining the important role of the Maritime Task Force at this time of regional instability.”
The Maritime Task Force is the first maritime deployment in a U.N. peacekeeping mission, and is tasked with assisting the Navy in preventing unauthorized material from entering Lebanon by sea.