On Monday, the Navy denied that it had erased any evidence of damage to the Mondego and said some of the repairs involved military personnel who refused to proceed with the Madeira mission.
“The Navy completely denies that they have erased any evidence,” the department said in a statement.
The text states that “the inspection carried out confirms the indicated malfunctions, which, however, did not prevent the safe execution of the mission.”
The Navy added that “the ship continues to prepare” and that “some of the damage was even repaired with the participation of the military, who disconnected from the ship last week.”
“NRP Mondego is currently conducting exercises in the Madeira maritime area, which also serve to integrate new elements of the garrison, a significant part of which has surrendered,” the text says.
Prosecutors on Monday suspended a hearing on 13 servicemen who refused to board the Mondego ship on the night of the 11th, citing security concerns, at the prosecutor’s decision to analyze the process in more detail, the defense said Monday. .
The said military was to be heard this Monday by the Military Judicial Police (PJM) in Lisbon as part of a criminal investigation following the involvement of the navy.
Lawyers for the 13 soldiers on the Mondego claim “there is evidence that has been erased” by the navy and will require proof.
A defense source told Lusa on Sunday that “there is evidence that is being erased” and that the Mondego vessel “was completely cleared” on Wednesday before heading to the whereabouts of the two TVs. He added that a plane would arrive in Funchal with materials to repair the ship.
The source said that the Portuguese Navy claims that the Mondego is in “seaworthy condition” and that this has been “confirmed by inspection”. But said inspection was carried out by the Navy without the presence of any other persons, and on the basis of this, “repairs began on board the ship,” he said.
According to a response sent by the Lusa branch, the inspection in question was carried out by “a multi-disciplinary team coordinated by the Department of Materials that conducted an inspection of all NRP Mondego equipment and systems.”
The refusal of the military to land on the 11th led to the failure of the Navy’s mission to escort a Russian ship north of the island of Porto Santo, in the Madeira archipelago. The mentioned military men were also subjected to disciplinary action by the affiliate.