Yesterday, 27 April, the Minister of Defence Anu Angelov and the Chief of Defence General Simeon Simeonov sent with military honors Drazki Frigate to participate in NATO operation Unified Protector, supporting the enforcement of arms embargo against Libya. “Do your military service the way the name of the ship implies: courageously and with good faith!” Minister Angelov spoke to the crew of the frigate. “You have to be vigilant and you have to preserve the high motivation you have now throughout the whole sailing mission. The Ministry of Defence, the Defence Staff and the Navy did everything that was necessary to prepare the ship and the sailors, and we will be constantly in direct contact with you.” Minister Angelov gave the crew an icon of Saint Nikola the Miracle Maker and wished the sailors that Saint Nikolay protect them and all participants in the mission return home safe and sound. The Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Plamen Manushev, presented the crew with an icon of Saint Nikolay, consecrated at thanksgiving church service. The sailors received a statuette of the Saint from the Mayor of the town of Bourgas, Mr. Dimitar Nikolov, and an icon of Saint George the Victorious from the District Governor, Mr. Konstantin Grebenarov. Priest Stiliyan from Saint Nikola Church in the village of Chernomorets consecrated the frigate and wished the crew to return home safely.

Implementing the decision N 207 dated from 31.03.2011 of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria on participation in NATO operation Unified Protector with a ship class frigate, a Special Operations Group included in it, Drazki Frigate will join the operational NATO Maritime Group acting to support the arms embargo against the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya in the Mediterranean Sea.

In NATO operation Unified Protector, the frigate will fulfill tasks on protection, convoying, conducting checks, deviation and/or detainment of ships in compliance with the resolutions 1970 and 1973 dated 2011 passed by the UN Security Council.

Drazki frigate will participate in the operation from 1 May 2011 to 31 May 2011. To this aim, the frigate will sail four days to the location of the operation and will return back home for the same duration of time after completing its participation in the operation.

During its participation in the operation, the Bulgarian military vessel will patrol the eastern part of the area of the operation in front of the Libyan shores. It is envisioned for the frigate to conduct patrolling for two periods of fourteen days each with a three-day break between them when the vessel will be stationed at the port of Souda on the island of Crete in order to restore its supplies and provisions. The degree of risk of the operation is determined as being low by the Defence Staff.

The total price of the frigate is approximately 1.5 million Leva. The crew consists of 160 servicemen, seven of whom are women who have participated in several missions of the Alliance with the frigate. There will be a psychologist on board of the ship. The servicemen will receive 50 per cent additional payment above their monthly remuneration, and their traveling expenses vary from 51 to 53 Euro per day depending on heir rank.

Тhe commanding officer of the frigate is Captain Pancho Panchev.