The NRP Arpão left Lisbon Naval Base April 4th to participate in the Open Sea Initiative, in the South Atlantic, until the beginning of August.
During the 120 days of the mission, the NRP Arpão will cover more than 13,000 miles, carry out around 2,500 hours of navigation and visit two continents and five countries: Cape Verde, Brazil, South Africa, Angola and Morocco, contributing to the closer of military and diplomatic cooperation relations between Portugal and each of the countries visited, with special focus on the celebrations of the Day of Portugal, of Camões and of the Portuguese Communities, which this year will take place in South Africa and will be attended by the President of Republic.
The NRP Arpão will be the first Portuguese submarine to carry out a mission of this type, and it will also be the first time that a national submarine crosses the equator, having put the Navy’s operational logistical capacity to the test.
The ceremony was attended by the Secretary of State for National Defence, Marco Capitão Ferreira, Chief of Staff of the Navy, Admiral Gouveia e Melo, among other entities.
The Arpão submarine has a crew of 35 and is commanded by the frigate captain Taveira Pinto.