The failure ends another mission by the Mondega, a Portuguese navy ship whose crew had mutinied

The Portuguese Navy ship NPR Mondego is in the headlines again. Just two weeks after its crew refused to board due to concerns for their safety, the ship was forced to board this Tuesday abort another mission. It was supposed to replace agents of the Maritime Police and the Institute of Forestry and Nature Conservation in their work in the Savage Islands, Madeira, but for reasons of a “technical nature” it had to be towed to the port of Caniçal, also in Madeira.

The rescue took place on the high seas, just hours after it left port to carry out its first mission since the controversial insubordination.

Jose Fonseca, The Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Armed Forces was quick to guarantee that the targets were met by other ships, air and electronic means. In other words, to monitor the environment of the Atlantic archipelago, the Navy stopped using the ship in very questionable condition to all available media types.

But Fonseca’s quick statement did not resolve the underlying issue: were the thirteen soldiers right that they refused to sail on March 16, after misgivings expressed by their own commander, who said he “didn’t feel comfortable” going on board? The leader of the Association of Sergeants, António Lima Coelho, is clear: “All this confirms that these people were absolutely right,” according to what he told a Portuguese newspaper Public.

13 crew sailors (out of a total of 29) who refused to sail on March 16, were invited to an audition at the Prosecutor’s Office. However, a few days later, the body stopped the proceedings in order to analyze the facts in more detail, the defense claims. The Navy has already started a disciplinary procedure and criminal procedure.

The crew members were heavily criticized by the Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Gouveia e Melo, for their behavior, stating that “the Navy cannot forget, ignore or condone acts of indiscipline”, which helped the defendants’ lawyer to redraw the disciplinary process of the birth in part.

When refusing boarding, crew members stated that water was leaking and that one of the two engines and one of the three generators were not functioning. the ship carried more than 500 days without maintenance.