SDP Demands Clarification on Navy’s Refusal to Track Russian Ship

On Tuesday, the SDP asked the government about the state of readiness of the Navy ships after the unit was unable to escort a Russian ship to Madeira due to the garrison refusing to land.

In a conversation with Lusa, the Social Democrat MP Jorge Paulo Oliveira said that clarification was needed on the “state of readiness of ships operating in the naval system” throughout Portugal.

In question is the fact that NRP Mondego was not on a mission to escort a Russian ship north of Porto Santo in Madeira after 13 soldiers refused to board on Saturday night for security reasons.

According to the MP, the questions will be put on Tuesday afternoon to the Parliament addressed to the Minister of Defence.

With the situation raising concerns, Jorge Paulo Oliveira said he would ask Helena Carreiras if “it would be appropriate to operate naval assets in the face of declining combat capability.”

For the “orange” parliamentary group, this is a “disturbing episode”, also “showing the state of the Armed Forces after seven years of socialist rule.”

“None of these episodes was random or isolated. The fact is that the Portuguese armed forces today are poor in their means and equipment, they, as you know, have a shortage of personnel, and this twofold circumstance gives rise to serious restrictions on its performance, ”he argued.

According to Jorge Paulo Oliveira, this and other episodes occur, on the one hand, due to “refusal to invest in the functioning of the Armed Forces.”

“It is very important to say the following: operating and maintenance costs [de meios] in the State Budget for 2023 decreased by 7% compared to the execution estimate for 2022,” he said.

On the other hand, the Social Democrat deputy finds the reasons for what happened in the “postponement of the modernization of the Armed Forces”, emphasizing that the Military Programming Law (MPL) and the Military Infrastructure Law (MIA) “add up delay after delay.” “both in terms of implementation and refinement,” he said.

“Now it has consequences, and the consequences are those that we know: serious restrictions on the work of our FA, of which this episode is another example,” he stressed.

Asked if the PSD would recognize the summons of the Minister of Defense or Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral Enrique Gouveia y Melo, to parliament for further clarification, the MP replied that “everything has its time” and that a “full response” is awaited from executive branch, not excluding “any action in the future”.

The MP added that “the role of the Navy in patrolling the Portuguese coast” was at stake.

“When the navy is unable to fulfill this role, the image of the country is at stake, but also the interests in terms of the security of the country,” he concluded.

According to a document drawn up by the 13 soldiers in question, which Lusa had access to, on Saturday evening the NRP Mondego received orders to “keep an eye on the Russian ship north of Porto Santo” at a time when meteorological data forecasts “indicated a swell from 2.5 up to 3 meters.

According to these 13 soldiers, the commander of the Mondego NRP himself “assumed before the garrison that it was inconvenient for him to leave it with the technical limitations” of the ship.

Among the various technical limitations cited by the military was the fact that the engine and power generator were not working.

This action resulted in the Navy deeming that 13 operatives “failed in their military duties by usurping functions, powers, and duties not inherent in their respective posts and positions.”

“These facts are still being investigated in detail and appropriate disciplinary action and consequences will be applied as appropriate,” the Navy said in a statement to Lusa.

The branch also confirmed that the NRP Mondego had a “fault in one of its engines” but said the mission it was going to take was “short-term and close to the coast, with good meteorological and oceanic conditions”.

In terms of technical limitations, the Navy said that warships “can operate in a very degraded mode without compromising safety” because they have “very complex and very redundant systems.”