President honors those lost at sea

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and First Lady Diana Nausėdienė attended a wreath-laying ceremony in Klaipėda on Saturday to honor those who perished at sea, the Presidential Office reported.

The ceremony took place aboard the Lithuanian Navy’s minehunter Skalvis (M53) and began with a flyover by Romanian Air Force fighter jets, part of NATO’s air policing mission in the Baltic states. More than ten vessels participated in the event.

Wreaths were cast into the Baltic Sea to pay tribute to those who “sacrificed their lives promoting Lithuania, laying the foundations of a maritime state, and nurturing the country’s seafaring history.” Wreaths were laid by the President, the Government, the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Transport, the Lithuanian Armed Forces, foreign embassies, the Klaipėda City Municipality, the Port of Klaipėda, and universities. A moment of silence was also observed.

The wreath-laying ceremony is one of the oldest traditions of the Sea Festival, first held in 1934.