Ships from NATO’s Standing Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) arrived in Poti, Georgia, on May 14 after concluding their participation in the Romanian-hosted Black Sea exercise Sea Shield 2018.
During the four-day port call to Poti, the ships’ crews will join Georgian Border Police for drills aimed at increasing interoperability between Georgian and NATO naval forces.
On May 11, SNMG2 wrapped up the international exercise Sea Shield together with ships, submarines and other assets from Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and the United States.
The exercise participants enhanced interoperability by practicing NATO standard procedures for defense against aircraft, ship or submarine attack as well as asymmetric threats that can take many forms.
“This exercise enables the NATO allies to work together and build individual and collective capability whilst delivering reassurance to Allied nations bordering the Black Sea,” Commander Utley, commander of SNMG2, said commenting on the exercise. “Closer cooperation and communication is one key element of this interoperability, an example of that is demonstrated today in that I arrived via a UK Navy helicopter which landed on a Romanian warship, whilst conducting an Anti-submarine exercise against a Turkish submarine, all this activity being safely controlled by a multinational staff.”
The NATO Group includes flagship Royal Navy destroyer HMS Duncan, Spanish frigate SPS Victoria, Bulgarian frigate BGS Drazki, Romanian frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand and Turkish frigate TCG Gimlik.