St Petersburg Port Visit

Four NATO ships assigned to Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1) arrived in St Petersburg for a scheduled port visit.

NATO Mine Counter-Measures Ships Arrive in St Petersburg for Port Visit

This morning, four NATO ships assigned to Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1) arrived in St Petersburg for a scheduled port visit. The two remaining ships belonging to SNMCMG1 will be arriving later in the visit.

Under the command of Commander Piotr Sikora, Polish Navy, the Group includes the flagship ORP CZERNICKI (Poland), ENS ADMIRAL COWAN (Estonia), HNoMS RAUMA (Norway), and FGS DILLINGEN (Germany). BNS NARCIS (Belgium) and HNLMS MAKKUM (Netherlands) will be joining the group in the coming days.

“We are very happy to be visiting the port of St. Petersburg,” said Sikora. “We share many common interests in maritime security. We welcome these opportunities to work together in close fashion not only to enhance understanding between NATO and Russia, but also to improve interoperability and cooperation in areas of shared interest. We have benefited from similar opportunities to work together with our Russian counterparts during operations, especially counter-piracy Operation OCEAN SHIELD and in the field of search and rescue in the Indian Ocean.”

During the visit, the NATO forces will exercise together with the Russian Navy, conducting personnel exchange visits in port, playing a friendly game of football and conducting a passing exercise (PASSEX) at sea.

Source: NATO.