According to the Portuguese Navy, the corvette António Enes, “on a maritime patrol and surveillance mission in the area of mainland Portugal, was engaged in accompanying the scientific vessel of the Russian Federation, the Akademik Aleksandr Karpinskiy, during its transit in Portuguese waters”.

On 28 October 2022, the Armed Forces had already announced an operation aimed at accompanying the passage of another Russian Federation scientific vessel through Portuguese waters, the Akademik Boris Petrov.

In a note then sent to the press, the General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMGFA) referred that the passage of the Russian ship “off the national coast” was being carried out “through means of the Navy belonging to the National Forces System”.

The EMGFA also took the opportunity to point out that this was “a normal procedure for the surveillance of maritime spaces under national sovereignty or jurisdiction, whenever warships from countries that do not belong to NATO sail in Portuguese waters”.