The frigate of the Portuguese Navy “D. Francisco de Almeida” returns to Lisbon on the morning of November 15, after a mission to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden, in the Somali basin, the Bab El Mandeb straits and the Red Sea.
After starting from the Lisbon Naval Base on August 15, the NRP “D. Francisco de Almeida” was a member, from September 1st to October 30th, of the NATO Permanent Naval Force (SNMG1) in Operation Ocean Shield.
On its return, the frigate will receive on board Defense Minister José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, accompanied by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Luís Evangelista Esteves de Araújo, and by the Navy's Chief of Staff, Admiral José Saldanha Lopes.
Operation Ocean Shield's main objective is to protect maritime traffic that crosses the coast of Somalia, halting and preventing acts of piracy, including, in particular, the involvement of naval and maritime patrol aircraft, as well as ensuring cooperation with the Navies and Coast Guards of the Regional States in combating this scourge.
The participation of the frigate D. Francisco de Almeida in this mission lasted 93 days, of which 60 were on patrol in the area of operations, with a total navigation rate of around 90%.
The integration of D. Francisco de Almeida coincided with the end of the Southwest monsoon period and the beginning of the transition period, which is characterized by weather conditions favorable to the practice of piracy acts using small and fast vessels.
Among the tasks carried out by the Portuguese vessel, Surveillance and Patrol in the Recommended International Transit Corridor (IRTC) in the Gulf of Aden, Somali Basin, Bab El Mandeb Strait and Red Sea, approaches to several suspicious vessels in order to identify possible piracy-related signs, reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions along the coast of Somalia, in particular by helicopter.
The Portuguese frigate also provided food and medical support to the crew of the merchant ship Dover, after nearly seven months of kidnapping by Somali pirates.
In the chapter of patrol, surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions, there were 38 days of patrol and surveillance actions in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and Red Sea, 17 days of intelligence-gathering actions in the fields and anchorages on the North coast and Eastern Somalia, 48 hours of organic helicopter flight, involved in the various actions of patrolling, surveillance and boarding suspicious ships, as well as reconnaissance, intelligence gathering and humanitarian support to MV Dover;
The balance of this mission was particularly positive, since, during the period in which the NRP D. Francisco de Almeida was integrated in the Naval Force of NATO, there was no successful piracy action, due to the joint effort of all international forces in the area of operations.
A reflection of this was the message received from the Commander of the NATO Task Force, Rear Admiral Gualtiero Mattesi: “The NRP D. Francisco de Almeida quickly integrated itself in the operations against piracy, having been an extremely valuable means throughout its assignment to Operation Ocean Shield It presented itself well prepared for counter-piracy operations, with a garrison effectively led and trained by Commander Figueiredo, having been very proficient in NATO operational procedures.”
The NRP frigate D. Francisco de Almeida is commanded by Captain Salvado de Figueiredo and has a garrison of 185 soldiers, including two teams from the Marine Corps approach platoon, and the detachment of Helicopter Lynx ( Fenix) who embarked for this mission.
Comments