The Romanian Army monitors, through the Frigate "King Ferdinand" of the Romanian Naval Forces, maritime traffic in the Mediterranean Sea, and this is because the Romanian military forces contribute to the EUNAVFOR MED IRINI mission, which is currently underway.
The Romanian Army explains below how the operation is carried out, but also announces that the frigate has arrived in the port of Catania, where it has been restored to combat capacity, in order to continue its missions of monitoring maritime traffic in the Black Sea.
The "King Ferdinand" frigate performs maritime traffic monitoring missions in the Mediterranean Sea.
The crew of the frigate "King Ferdinand" began the mission under the banner of Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI. The ship performed, between 13-19 May, numerous complex activities at sea, in cooperation with the other military ships in the naval group of the European Union operation, as well as on board a commercial ship in the area of responsibility.
After leaving the military port of Souda, Crete Island, on Saturday, May 13, the Romanian military sailors took a compass heading to the operation area, where they applied the procedures for interrogating commercial ships through radio channels, a process that will be carried out continuously, 24 hours from the 24th, until the end of the mission in the Mediterranean basin.
The inspection and control team on board the frigate also conducted its first visit on board a merchant ship. The Romanian military presented Operation IRINI to the crew of the civilian ship and assured the sailors on board of the fact that they can count on the support of military ships from the naval group operating in the Mediterranean, should they encounter certain situations that may endanger their safety .
Thursday, May 18, had a special program when the ships of the naval group of Operation IRINI, the frigate "King Ferdinand", the German auxiliary ship FGS "Bonn" and the Italian frigate ITS "Libeccio", carried out joint exercises at sea, naval maneuvers and developments, an aerial photography sequence as well as a refueling activity at sea.
On this occasion, the commander of the group, Flotilla Rear Admiral Valentino Rinaldi, embarked on board the ITS frigate "Libeccio",
paid a visit on board the frigate "King Ferdinand" to convey his appreciation to the ship's crew and to meet with the command team.
At the end of a week full of maritime traffic monitoring activities, as well as training at sea, the frigate "King Ferdinand" docked on Friday, May 19, in the port of Catania on the Island of Sicily, in order to restore its combat capability and prepare for the next missions in within the EUNAVFOR MED IRINI Operation.
