Gouveia e Melo, chief of staff of the navy, asked for 70 million for the maintenance of naval ships. For now, the government agreed to pay 40. But the resolution of the Council of Ministers published this Wednesday (and approved on March 2) reserves 39 million (divided into three equal tranches until 2025) for the maintenance of naval vessels. Vasco da Gama and Bartolomeu Dias classes (frigates) and the Viana do Castelo class (marine patrol vessels).
in total, there will be nine ships to intervene. But, this lot does not include the NRP Mondego (in service since 2016, belongs to the Tejo class of coastal patrol vessels), which is currently in the eye of the hurricane. All because last Saturday (the 11th), 13 soldiers refused to board the ship, citing security reasons. This resulted in the non-fulfillment of a mission to escort a Russian ship to the north of the island of Porto Santo, Madeira, which had been validated by hierarchical superiors. The military pointed out that the ship had operational limitations, such as the failure of an engine and generator. A document from the 13 soldiers also stated that the ship “does not have an adequate sewage system to store oily residues on board, which accumulate in the holds, significantly increasing the risk of fire”. to lusa, the Navy confirmed that the ship had “a malfunction in one of its engines” but was able to carry out the operation, as it was “short-lived and close to shore, with good meteorological and oceanic conditions”.
Commenting on the matter, Lima Coelho, president of the National Association of Sergeants, stated that the problem is more serious than that: “This was not a crisis at the time, it was the result of many situations that were already on board. (…) It wasn’t just a matter of the engine. The ship has several anomalies. If you go to sea and have a problem, there are none outsourcing that they can solve, it must be who is there”. What is certain is that this latest reinforcement for ship maintenance, approved before the case was known, did not end up with the NRP Mondego.
Gouveia e Melo’s warning
This Wednesday, in the first public response he gave to the case, the Chief of Staff of the Navy, Henrique Gouveia e Melo, was blunt in his words. “There is no army without discipline. Discipline is the essential glue of the armed forces. The day we are undisciplined, the day we don’t believe in the command line, the day that command line is undermined, we will have no armed forces,” he said after a session with students at a school in Vila Real.
Announcing that he will be in Madeira (where the NRP Mondego is located) on Thursday, the admiral said he will speak to the garrison and say what he thinks about the whole thing. And he underlined that “the investigation will end soon” as “quick but safe results” were favored.
In the first instance, the navy initiated disciplinary proceedings against the military personnel and passed on information to the Military Judicial Police, which will conduct an external criminal trial, of which prison sentences of up to four years may result, with the military guilty of various crimes (insubordination, disobedience and seizure of power, as it was up to the officers on board to assess the security conditions for the mission).
This Wednesday, First Lieutenant Vasco Lopes, commander of the NRP Mondego, confirmed on SIC Notícias that there was an “engine failure”, which was “repaired the day after [domingo]”. JRegarding the military, the official said that “they are providing support as part of disciplinary processes and adhering to shipboard routines as they have been doing”before or after the case. Defense Minister Helena Carreiras had already said on Tuesday that it is up to the navy to open disciplinary proceedings, clarify what happened – and under what circumstances – and assess the usefulness of the resources.
In turn, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of the Republic (and inherently Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces), declined to comment on the matter. Stressing that it awaits the conclusions of the ongoing inspection, the expression used most often by the president in the statements he made in the Picadeiro Real, in Lisbon, was: “Esperemos”. Is Gouveia e Melo weakened in his position? “Hopefully”. Doesn’t the matter constitute insubordination and disobedience to the hierarchy? “Hopefully”.
Asked about a possible dissatisfaction in the navy, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that “as in the army or the air force, there are capabilities that come from the past and that need to be updated. It is this updating that will be more possible now than in the near past”.
That’s what the prime minister thought it is up to Gouveia e Melo “to ensure discipline and order in the forces under his command”. In Spain before the Iberian Summit, Prime Minister António Costa stressed that, despite the incident, the “Portuguese Armed Forces are capable of carrying out any mission, wherever it may be”.
Source: DN
