Ships and personnel from a number of NATO and ally navies are participating in the Greek-hosted maritime exercise Niriis 2017.
Taking place off the coast of Crete in the southern Aegean Sea, the drill kicked off November 17 and is set to conclude on Saturday, November 25.
The exercise is joined by Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) and Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2), in addition to Hellenic and Israeli Navy ships and personnel from the navies of US and UK.
SNMCMG2 consists of flagship Royal Navy ship HMS Enterprise, Turkish minehunter TCG Alanya, Bulgarian minesweeper BGS Shkval, Italian mine hunter ITS Crotone, Royal Navy mine hunter HMS Pembroke and Hellenic Navy mine hunter HS Evrop. SNMG2 is represented by flagship Royal Navy assault ship HMS Ocean.
Based on a fictitious scenario the exercise aims to train participating personnel to deal with modern maritime threats whilst supporting security at sea and conducting evacuations of civilian populations. The exercise began with Greek and Royal Marines disembarking their respective ships to conduct reconnaissance ashore prior to assaulting designated targets on the coast.