The NRP Bartolomeu Dias left Lisbon May 26 for the North Sea to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1), which is an integral part of the Standing Naval Forces (SNF) and supports the maritime component of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF), NATO’s very high readiness Joint Force, to participate in Operation Brilliant Shield, in a ceremony presided over by the Chief of the Navy General Staff, Admiral Jorge Nobre de Sousa.
Operation Brilliant Shield’s main objective is to promote surveillance and ensure the security of this area of responsibility of the Alliance, with a special focus on monitoring non-NATO military platforms, surface and submarine, which usually operate in this area, as well as on protecting the critical national infrastructures (CNI) of the Alliance’s member countries.
In his speech, the Admiral and CEMA highlighted the confidence he feels in the garrison’s military personnel. “I trust in your leadership, your discipline, your cohesion and your camaraderie. I know that you will represent Portugal with dignity, competence and the spirit of mission that characterizes Portuguese sailors.”
The NRP Bartolomeu Dias has 176 military personnel on board and is commanded by Frigate Captain Elias Joaquim Vestia Cagarrinho.