Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster got underway from Portsmouth to join the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) for a deployment to northern Europe and the Baltic.
The Duke-class frigate is scheduled to conduct exercises within her task group as well as a variety of port visits that will include capability demonstrations.
“We have a ship’s company who have recent experience of operating in the area, which is a great opportunity to train with our NATO allies and maintain close ties with our longstanding regional partners,” Commander Will Paston, Westminster’s commanding officer, said:
The SNMG1 is a task group of four ships led by their commander Rear Admiral Edward Cashman of the US Navy, who will be embarked in the Arleigh Burke destroyer USS Gravely.
The other two ships forming the task group are the German Rhön-class tanker FGS Spessart and the Polish frigate ORP General Kazimierz Pulaski.
Prior to joining SNMG1, HMS Westminster will take part in exercise Joint Warrior off North Western Scotland. More than 10,000 troops from 14 nations are taking part in the three-week exercise.