Naval frigate “Bartolomeu Dias” sets out for NATO mission in North and Baltic seas

Sunday saw the departure from Lisbon’s Alfeite naval base of NRP ‘Bartolomeu Dias’, with 168 naval personnel on board on a four-month NATO mission patrolling the north and Baltic seas. Defence minister Helena Carreiras was at the send off, “thanking everyone involved”. The boat’s principal mission, explains the Navy’s website, is to provide NATO with a permanent and readily available naval capability to conduct military operations for intervention in a broad spectrum of activities. Media reports give one of these as “the anti-submarine struggle”.