Minehunter ‘Duero’ completes its integration into the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group Two (SNMCMG-2)

• During its integration into the SNMCMG-2, the Spanish vessel identified five historical mines

Minehunter 'Duero' completed its integration into the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group 2 (SNMCMG-2) and headed back home after two months on the mission.

On his way back to Spain, the ship will provide Associated Support to the operation “Sea Guardian”, designed to contribute to safety through knowledge of the maritime environment.

While integrated in the SNMCMG-2 for two months, the 'Duero' took part in several exercises which have enhanced its training such as Dynamic Mariner, Nusret or Poseidon.

During these exercises, the ship carried out 180 hours of mine-hunting, 27 missions with the 'Pluto' underwater vehicle and 10 missions with divers from the Divers Unit. This hunting rhythm, both day and night, has allowed them to identify many underwater devices, among them, five historical mines from the World Wars.

These findings were reported to the local authorities for their deactivation or countermining, thus contributing to the safety of the sea lanes.

During the navigation and, between those NATO routines, several crew training exercises were carried out in the vessel following all health protocols against COVID-19 in order to keep up with the level of training achieved in the recent Operational Qualification.

SNMCMG-2 is one of the four maritime groupings of the NATO Immediate Response Force and is currently made up of five minehunters and one commanding ship under the Greek flag. This Grouping, which will have Spanish command in the second half of 2021, has been conducting exercises in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea since April.