Navy monitored passage of Russian ships through Portuguese waters

The Portuguese Navy concluded, in the early hours of today, a mission to monitor three Russian ships during their passage through Portuguese waters.

The Navy accompanied the passage of three ships from the Russian Federation, the ALTAY class refueler, the AORL KOLA, the LST-010 IVAN GREN landing ship and the ROPUCHA class landing ship, the LST-031 ALEKSANDR OTRAKOVSKIY, having started during the early hours of March 22nd, ending today, March 24th, in the early hours of the morning.

For this purpose, the NRP Bartolomeu Dias and the NRP Viana do Castelo were committed, which, during their passage through the Mainland’s Exclusive Economic Zone, closely monitored these ships and contributed to the permanent clarification of the situation.

These types of missions are carried out to guarantee the security of national maritime spaces and contribute to collective defense within the framework of the Atlantic Alliance.

«Serving Portugal at sea 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, the Navy will continue to monitor the passage of this type of ships and monitor, through the action of the Maritime Operations Center, maritime spaces under national sovereignty or jurisdiction in order to ensure that no harmful activities are carried out for the country and promote and protect Portugal’s interests at and through the sea”, guarantees that armed force, in a statement.