The frigate “Regina Maria” (F-222) entered the port of Souda, on the island of Crete, on Wednesday, October 8, to restore combat capability and to conclude its participation in the NATO SEA GUARDIAN operation in the Mediterranean Sea.
The ship held command for the second time in five years, within five years, of the naval group of the NATO operation to monitor naval traffic in the Mediterranean, between September 11 and October 8, and the group also included the missile carrier ship “Vukovar” of the Croatian Naval Forces.
During the mission, the naval group led by the Romanian military contributed to the development of the regional maritime security capacity, the fight against terrorism and the improvement of the knowledge of the maritime situation in the central Mediterranean area.
At the same time, the stopovers of the frigate “Regina Maria” in Tunis and Algiers were important vectors to reaffirm the North Atlantic Alliance’s commitment to maintaining peace, stability and freedom of navigation in the region. Both Tunisia and Algeria have been stable partners of NATO for over two decades, through the Mediterranean Dialogue.
During the two stopovers, the commander of the naval group, Commander George-Victor Durea, and the commander of the ship, Commander Mitel Alexandru, made official visits to the civil and military authorities in Tunis and Algiers.
Also on board the Romanian ship were the ambassadors of Finland, Portugal, Romania and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Republic of Tunisia, as well as the ambassadors of Romania, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States of America to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.
The frigate “Regina Maria” will return, at the beginning of next week, to the military port of Constanta.