Croatian Ship Joins NATO Operation in Mediterranean

The Croatian navy held a send-off ceremony for the RTOP-41 Vukovar on Monday in front of the barracks in the port of Split.

The Croatian navy boat, with 50 crew members, is to join a NATO operation in the Mediterranean.

Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Damir Krsticevic and Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces General Assembly Mirko Sundov with his associates were present.

It is the first time that a Croatian navy ship has taken part in a NATO-led operation, which will last from September 5 to 21.

The operation, announced at the NATO Warsaw Summit in July 2016, is a maritime security operation that emerged from the transformation of the earlier "Active Endeavor" naval counter-terrorist operation in the Mediterranean.

The new operation, named "Sea Guardian", is dedicated to "supporting maritime situational awareness, upholding freedom of navigation, conducting interdiction tasks, maritime counter-terrorism, contributing to capacity building, countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and protecting critical infrastructure".

The Croatian ship will perform non-combat tasks, focusing on maritime situational views, vessel identification and visibility at sea, to deter potential threats and support NATO strategic communications.

The ship is designed for artillery action against targets in the air and on the land, as well for the launch of rocket attacks on opposing forces' ships.

Russia is also holding drills at the same time with the involvement of 25 warships and 30 aircraft in the Mediterranean from September 1-8, Tass news agency reported on Thursday.

"In the course of this event, the grouping will practice a set of tasks of anti-submarine warfare and anti-aircraft defence...