Ships from NATO’s Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1) under command of Commander Peter Ramboer of the Belgian Navy arrived in Hull, UK on January 26.
The group made a routine port visit to Hull as part of their annual schedule of operations. While in Hull, officers made courtesy calls with local authorities, and sailors prepared the next phase of the deployment and took the opportunity to rest.
“We are happy to pull in to port after 10 days of intensive training at sea. As you may have noticed ashore we had some bumpy weather,” said Commander Ramboer. “We succeeded in the operational training objectives and are now a cohesive group that is ready to fulfill our NATO mission. We are now looking forward to more stable conditions to prepare our forthcoming mission and to have some rest and recreation.”
Prior to the visit to Hull, the group conducted an operational handover in Zeebrugge, Belgium. Commander Ramboer took command of the group and the flagship shifted from a Latvian naval vessel to the new flagship, Dutch Torpedo ship HNLMS Mercuur.
SNMCMG1 currently consists of flagship HNLMS Mercuur and Royal Navy mine hunter HMS Cattistock. Later in the year, the group is expected to include ships or mission modules from Germany, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Lithuania and Latvia.