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SPANISH MINEHUNTER 'TAMBRE' BEGINS ITS INTEGRATION INTO THE STANDING NATO MINE COUNTERMEASURES GROUP 2

Salamina (Greece)
June 14, 2020

 

 The Spanish minehunter, under operational control of the Operations Command, joins the Alliance to maintain freedom of navigation in the Mediterranean

 

The mine hunter 'Tambre', with a crew of 45 men and women belonging to the 1st Mine Hunter Squadron, based in Cartagena, will be integrated until July 29th within the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG-2). This group will be under the command of the Greek Commodore Dimitrios Katssouras.

During its participation, it is expected to visit countries like Greece, Turkey or Bulgaria, always observing the self-protection measures against COVID-19 issued by Spanish and international officials.

Throughout this deployment, the minehunter will also take part in the multinational exercises ARIADNE in Greek waters and BREEZE in the Black Sea.

During the time that the vessel will be deployed within this maritime group, it will support Operation Sea Guardian, which aims to contribute to knowledge of the Mediterranean maritime environment, as well as protection against terrorist activities.

The Spanish participation in the SNMCMG-2 is an example of Spain´s commitment in favour of collective defence and shared security with the Alliance in order to guarantee peace, world security and international legality, as well as to prevent possible conflicts. Furthermore, it represents an excellent opportunity to strengthen ties with units from other allied navies, and to reinforce integration and interoperability within the naval group.

NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG-2)

The main mission of the SNMCMG-2 is to contribute to keep the main ports of the Alliance and its naval bases open to traffic, as well as the detection, localization, identification and neutralization of any sort of mines.

Therefore, the allied ships integrated in this naval group carry out constant patrols and exercises, to perform and improve NATO´s naval procedures.

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