Ship built in Viana is returning to Portugal after migrant rescue mission
The Minister of National Defense defended today that the construction of six oceanic patrol ships “will reinforce national capabilities at sea”, giving the example of the NRP Viana do Castelo, which returned to Portugal today after 75 days on mission.
“The construction of six more ocean patrol vessels will certainly strengthen national capabilities at sea. (…) Once the impasse in defining the management model has been overcome, as decided by the Government a week ago, this structuring program for the Navy will thus resist”, declared Helena Carreiras.
The minister was speaking at the Naval Base of Lisbon, in Almada, as part of the reception ceremony of the ship NRP Viana do Castelo, which was on a 75-day mission in the Mediterranean Sea, in which it rescued migrants and deactivated a mine from the Second World War.
In front of the 66 soldiers who boarded the NRP Viana do Castelo, Helena Carreiras stressed that “the successful completion of yet another demanding mission in Viana do Castelo shows how these means are fundamental to fulfill the political objectives outlined by the Government”.
“The interoperability capability is the great differentiating element of these ships, making ocean patrol ships particularly suitable for the wide range of functions that the Navy currently performs”, he underlined.
Speaking to journalists after the ceremony, the commander of the NRP Viana do Castelo, frigate captain Ricardo Sá Granja, highlighted that ocean patrol ships have a “modular capacity” that allow them to “permit a series of activities”, this being his “added value” for the Navy.
“It is a ship designed primarily for search and rescue, to be used here in our territory, but at the same time it allows it to be used in other, more military tasks”, he indicated, giving the example of “mine research” or “mine research”. patrol and surveillance of maritime spaces”.
Proof of this, in its 75 days of mission in the Mediterranean Sea – in which it was part of the NATO mission “Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 2” -, NRP Viana do Castelo supported the Italian coastguard in the rescue of 55 migrants aboard a sailboat in the Ionian Sea and deactivated a World War II mine, “with more than 500 kilograms of explosives”, which was 80 meters from the Greek coast and 50 meters deep.
In a ceremony that was also attended by the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, a government official highlighted that the participation of the NRP Viana do Castelo in a NATO mission allowed “to reaffirm Portugal’s confidence as an ally and reliable partner for the production of international security”.
“The interoperability of our forces, their reliability and readiness are requirements of the utmost importance for the Alliance. The exercises in which they participated represent important steps towards strengthening collective, offensive and defensive capabilities”, he underlined.
The NRP Viana do Castelo spent more than two months in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the “Enhanced NATO Response Force 2022” of the Atlantic Alliance, with 66 soldiers on board, namely “a team from the Marine Corps approach platoon”, another from the ” Detachment of Sapadores Divers n.º 3” and also “a medical team specialized in underwater and hyperbaric medicine”.
This ship, which has been part of the Navy’s staff since December 2010, belongs to the ‘Viana do Castelo’ class, precisely the class of oceanic patrol ships that the Government intends to build now.
According to the statement from the Council of Ministers released last week, the executive decided to “continue the execution of the program for the acquisition of six oceanic patrol ships (NPO) of the ‘Viana do Castelo’ class destined for the Portuguese Navy”.
This statement comes after, in June, the Court of Auditors refused the prior visa to the contract between the Government and idD – Portugal Defense for the management of the acquisition program of the six ships in question.
The decision to build the six NPO dates from May 2021, when the Council of Ministers authorized an expense for the purchase, provided for in the Military Programming Law, of these ships, in the amount of 352 million euros.
At the time, the then Minister of National Defense, João Gomes Cravinho (currently Minister of Foreign Affairs) explained that the delivery of the first ship was scheduled for “the end of 2023” and the rest would be delivered by 2029, except for the year 2025.