The minehunter M 271 "Captain Constantin Dumitrescu", a former ship of the British Royal Navy, docked on Monday in the military port of Constanta, for the first time since entering the service of the Romanian Navy.
According to the Naval Forces General Staff (SMFN), the ship's crew carried out a march of over 4,200 nautical miles, during 41 days transiting maritime areas in the North Sea, the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay in the Atlantic Ocean, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, the Turkish Straits and the Black Sea.
"At the same time, in order to restore its combat capability, since its departure from Rosyth, Scotland, on September 24, the minehunter M 271 has made stopovers in ports in Great Britain, Spain and Italy," the press release issued by SMFN informed on Monday.
The minehunter M 271 "Captain Constantin Dumitrescu" entered the service of the Naval Forces on August 4, and has a crew of 40 military sailors on board, commanded by Captain-Commander Madalina Dragan-Ghigalau.
Formerly HMS PEMBROKE in the British Royal Navy, the minehunter M 271 "Captain Constantin Dumitrescu" is the second ship in the government-to-government agreement concluded between Romania and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
"The new capability of the 146th Division of Mine-Disposal Ships from the Fleet is a military ship interoperable with NATO structures, it is part of the Sandown class, has a displacement of 600 tons, a length of 52.7 meters, a width of 10.5 meters, a draft of 2.4 meters and is equipped with equipment to combat marine mines", the press release states.
The "Mine Hunter" program increases the capacity of the Romanian Naval Forces to act effectively to counter the current mine threat, in order to protect the navigation routes and critical infrastructure in the area of responsibility.
The Black Sea continues to be a critical element in the regional and international security architecture, and the challenges associated with this operational theater have become increasingly complex. Romania, as a Black Sea coastal state and an important NATO member on the eastern flank, must adapt and modernize its Naval Forces to respond to new types of threats, including in terms of protecting critical infrastructure.
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