Navy plans to reinforce its presence in Madeira with two new patrol boats in 2026

The Navy plans to reinforce its resources in the Madeira Maritime Zone in 2026 with two coastal surveillance vessels, the Naval Commander, Nuno Chaves Ferreira, said this Tuesday, stressing that these are new vessels.

“The Navy is currently undergoing a transformation process in which the acquisition of new resources is planned for the coming years. In this sense, from mid-2026 we have planned the acquisition and integration into the naval system of new coastal surveillance patrol vessels, in trimaran format , which will reinforce our maritime zones”, he explained, announcing that reinforcement with two of these resources is planned for Madeira.

The Naval Commander was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the new commander of the Madeira Maritime Zone, Captain Bruno Teles, who replaces Rui Teixeira.

Nuno Chaves Ferreira said that the new patrol vessels have a “very significant capacity” for intersection, within the scope of surveillance and inspection of maritime spaces, stressing that the crews are estimated to have between 15 and 20 elements on each vessel.

Currently, the Navy operates in the Madeira archipelago with the ship Zaire , which “ does not have the effectiveness or modernity of the new resources ”, as highlighted by the Naval Commander.

At the inauguration ceremony of the new commander of the Madeira Maritime Zone, the representative of the Republic for the autonomous region, Ireneu Barreto, highlighted, for his part, the importance of the Navy and its responsibilities in several areas, such as the safety of submarine cables , assistance to vessels and search and rescue operations , but also in the preservation of the marine environment , the fight against pollution and the protection of underwater cultural heritage.

Ireneu Barreto highlighted the Navy's “particular commitment” to defending the Selvagens Islands , stressing that this contributed to creating conditions for the establishment of the Nature Reserve in that territory, the largest Marine Protected Area in the North Atlantic with full protection.

The representative of the Republic for Madeira warned, on the other hand, of the need to proceed, in the Law, “to the clarification of the competences of the autonomous regions regarding the management of the public maritime domain”.

Ireneu Barreto argued that this clarification must be carried out “without jeopardizing the integrity and sovereignty of the State, but also without giving in to temptations of centralism”.

“I therefore wish to appeal that, with respect for the Constitution, the powers of the autonomous regions in terms of the management of maritime zones be regulated, moving towards joint and shared management,” he said.