The lawyers of the 13 naval personnel whose evidence will be heard tomorrow at the Military Judicial Police in Lisbon claim that "there are indications that evidence has been erased" by the Navy, and are worried that the case may be derailed in their pursuit of the truth.
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The Union of Tax Workers (STI) has scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, the 20th of March, from 14 hours, in Funchal, a demonstration and strike against the professional devaluation and the collapse of the Tax and Customs Authority (AT).
As part of the committee of inquiry into alleged favours to economic groups, The President of Madeira, Miguel Albuquerque, was asked about 27 works carried out in Madeira, regarding the importance of their construction and whether budgetary expenditures were "acceptable."
After the Navy confirmed that all those who refused to undertake a surveillance mission last Saturday night were to be replaced, local newspaper JM, writes that the crew are still in Madeira but will be replaced before the arrival of Admiral Gouveia and Admiral Melo tomorrow.
The crew who refused to leave Funchal Pier and board the NRP Mondego and take part in a surveillance mission tracking a Russian vessel off the north coast of Porto Santo will be removed from their posts.
With thirteen members of the crew, including four NCOs, refusing to leave the shore, the Portuguese navy was unable to fulfill one of its main duties; the protection of the sovereign seas, and failed to complete a surveillance mission on a Russian ship that was travelling north of Porto Santo.
It was as close to mutiny as you can get when 13 Portuguese naval personnel refused to take part in a naval mission in the Maritime Zone of Madeira. Four NCOs and nine seamen refused to sail due to an engine malfunction of the NRP Mondego, claiming that the ship was seriously damaged.
Ricardo Lume (Portuguese Communist Party - PCP) will use the potestative right to call a person to the Committee of Enquiry on favouritism to business groups by the Regional Government.
The Porto Santo Line experienced another mechanical failure today, the second so far in less than a month since it returned from its annual service.
Yesterday Luís Miguel de Sousa came under cross-examination about the Sousa's lack of performance with regard to the inter-island ferry (Tenerife-Madeira-Mainland), whose service was suspended after two years as the Sousa group deemed it unprofitable, and needed compensatory compensation to keep it running.
"There's only one reason there's no ferry: people don't want to walk." Retorted Luís Miguel de Sousa to PCP leader, Ricardo Lume at today's meeting. The 'boss' of the Sousa Group recalls that "the Regional Government invested three million euros for 12 trips and only 5,000 people booked tickets. "
On Saturday the 25th, the Portuguese Navy escorted another Russian ship out of Portuguese territorial waters in what has been described by the General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMGFA), as "a normal surveillance procedure of maritime spaces under national sovereignty or jurisdiction, where warships from non-NATO countries sail in Portuguese waters."
The Porto Santo Line (PSL) has confirmed that they have cancelled their scheduled sailing for tomorrow due to bad weather, making it impossible for the ship to dock in Porto Santo.
As part of the activities promoted by the Casa do Povo da Calheta and its Employment Centre, registration for their new nautical course is now open.
Passengers were not happy this morning when the Porto Santo Ferry, which has just returned from a five-week maintenance break, broke down.