Regele Ferdinand frigate returns to Constanța after NATO mission

The Romanian frigate ‘Regele Ferdinand’ has returned to the military port of Constanța following a five-week mission in the Mediterranean Sea as part of NATO’s Operation Sea Guardian. This marks the ninth participation of the Romanian Naval Forces in this allied operation.

During the mission, the frigate served as the command ship for a naval group that included the Croatian vessel ‘Vukovar 41’. The crew, consisting of approximately 240 to 243 military personnel, covered 4,500 nautical miles. Key activities included the surveillance and monitoring of maritime traffic to ensure security on international commercial routes, the interrogation of over 180 commercial vessels, and six boarding actions of merchant ships.

The vessel was equipped with an IAR-330 Puma Naval helicopter and a special operations force group. During its deployment, the frigate made operational and logistical stops in Souda Bay, Greece; Catania, Italy; and Valletta, Malta.