North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Maritime Command
May 5, 2015
Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group ONE visits Sweden
GÖTEBORG, Sweden: The seven ships of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group ONE (SNMCMG1), under the command of Dutch Navy Commander Peter A.J. Bergen Henegouwen, were recently in the port of Göteborg for a routine port visit. The NATO Naval Force arrived in Sweden on Friday, 1 May and departed on Sunday, 3 May.
The flagship of SNMCMG1 is FGS DONAU, an ELBE-class German tender. The mine hunters assigned include BNS LOBELIA (Belgium), HMS QUORN (UK), and FGS AUERBACH (Germany), HNLMS WILLEMSTAD (The Netherlands), ORP MEWA (Poland), and HNOMS RAUMA (Norway).
“Sweden is one of NATO’s most active partners,” said Vice Admiral Peter Hudson, Commander of NATO Allied Maritime Command. “We appreciate the Swedish Navy’s willingness to exchange knowledge and experience with us in a myriad of different fields.”
Commander Bergen Henegouwen took command of the Group from the Lithuanian Navy on January 22 during a port visit to Den Helder, The Netherlands.
During his time in command, the Group conducted route survey operations off the German coast, as well as conducting port visits to Copenhagen, Gdynia, Amsterdam, Cherbourg, and Falmouth. The Group has also spent considerable time paired with its fellow mine countermeasures group SNMCMG2 in conducting historic ordnance disposal operations such as BENEFICIAL COOPERATION off the coast of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Most recently, the Group joined both SNMCMG2 and Standing NATO Maritime Group TWO (SNMG2), along with more than 40 other ships and submarines, 70 aircraft, and a total of 13,000 personnel from 14 Allied nations for Exercise JOINT WARRIOR, a complex multi-mission live exercise off the coast of Scotland.
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Story by HQ MARCOM Public Affairs Office
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