Sale of NRP Mondego

In Search of Hope – by Sam Gannon

Seconded to the parish of Tililngdon, the Reverend Dolores has been presented with a challenge.

She’s living in an antiquated house and she’s cold. Furthermore, her new Bishop, Bishop Alice does not approve of ‘showgirls in dog collars.’

Determined to prove the Bishop wrong, she sets about warming her house – who cares if it smells of horse! There is the crochet club, jumble sale, and soup run to organise. And this year, the church bells will ring, no matter what threats are made. Even more so, the newly formed choir will spread a little joy this Christmas, even though they can’t sing – yet! And with a little help from Phil, her bassist, this year could be full of magic.

However, she has a fight on her hands as the townies out in Knob Hill – she must stop calling it that, are trying to stop her from ringing her bells. When Krystal with a K decides to do some volunteer work, Dolores sets out to see just how committed she really is.

Up to her ears in granny squares and squawking choristers, Dolores is revving up for Christmas, yet a deeper darker secret is beginning to emerge!

A secret that could blow the whole parish apart and put Dolores in danger.

(available from Amazon)

Thirteen soldiers of the Portuguese Navy, accused of insubordination, have filed a lawsuit to try to prevent the sale of the Portuguese Republic Ship (NRP) Mondego to the Dominican Republic, alleging the need to preserve evidence related to the safety conditions of the vessel.

The news is advanced this Sunday, the 1st of March, Jornal de Notícias, reports that the military submitted a request to the Lisbon Criminal Investigation Court with the aim of preventing the ship from being sold before an independent technical expert is carried out.

At issue at stake is when, on the 11th of March 2023, four sergeants and nine enlisted men refused to carry out a mission to accompany a Russian ship, citing alleged safety failures on the ship, including structural cracks and problems in the engine room.

The case ended up involving the then Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, who was Chief of Staff of the Navy, who expressly went to Madeira for a ‘semi-public’ reprimand on the deck of the ‘Mondego’.

According to Jornal de Notícias, the military claim that the sale of the vessel could make it impossible to collect elements considered essential for their defense in the judicial process in which they are accused. The defense maintains that an independent technical assessment could demonstrate that the ship was not fit to sail at the time of the mission.

Days after the incident, an inspection by the Maritime Court concluded that the ship was capable of sailing, although it recognised the existence of some anomalies pointed out by the crew. The report by the Public Prosecutor’s Office considers that the risk of the failed mission of the NRP Mondego was low, although it acknowledged that the ship had cracks and an inoperable engine.

According to information released by the Government and available on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic, on Friday, Portugal signed a contract with the Dominican Republic for the sale of four coastal patrol vessels of the “Tejo” class — NRP Tejo, Douro, Mondego and Guadiana — for a total value of 24 million euros, corresponding to six million per vessel.

The executive justified the operation with the sale of material considered surplus to the Armed Forces, while allowing the strengthening of the country’s maritime surveillance capabilities.

The ships, operated by the Portuguese Navy since 2016, are intended for maritime patrol and surveillance, search and rescue, and maritime control of waters under national jurisdiction.

With the new judicial request, the military now seeks to prevent the sale of the NRP Mondego from taking place until independent assessors report on the structural and engineering integrity of the ship.

In Persuasion by Jane Austin, Captain Wentworth states:

“The navy amuses itself by sending several hundred seamen to their death in ships that are not worthy of them.”