According to the navy, the ship was followed "during its navigation north, in the Exclusive Economic Zone" of the continent.


In a statement sent to newsrooms, the Portuguese Navy guaranteed that it "permanently ensures the surveillance of maritime spaces under national sovereignty or jurisdiction, 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, in order to guarantee strict compliance with the law in these areas and that no activities contrary to the interests of Portugal are carried out by States or actors with antagonistic interests".

This is a normal procedure for monitoring maritime spaces whenever warships from countries that do not belong to the NATO transatlantic alliance sail in Portuguese waters.