The minehunter Sella joins NATO's permanent Mine Countermeasures Group

• Over the next three and a half months, the Navy vessel will conduct naval operations to safeguard freedom of navigation.

The minehunter Sella M-32 has set sail from her base at the Cartagena Naval Station to join NATO's Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG-2) for the next three and a half months, which mainly operates in the Mediterranean.

The Sella is commanded by Lieutenant Commander Íñigo Cordero de la Puente, and her crew includes personnel from the Mine Countermeasures Divers Unit and a nursing officer. Both the ship and her personnel have participated in numerous national and international operations and exercises in the field of mine warfare.

For this new NATO mission, Commander Cordero points out that the preparation—which took almost a year—has been very thorough and "has been divided into a ship certification phase, to check that she is ready to fulfil her tasks, and a readiness phase, which, in addition to everything related to personnel, addresses both maintenance and the provision of spare parts to deal with possible future breakdowns during deployment."

During this operation, minehunter Sella will join the NATO group to safeguard, together with the other Allied ships, freedom of navigation. Sella is contributing to strengthen the national commitment to deterrence, shared defence, and to the unity and interoperability of NATO forces.

Over the coming months, and until 18 December, the SNMCMG-2 will mainly sail in the Mediterranean, where it will carry out mine hunting operations, maritime surveillance and security missions, as well as multinational exercises. It will also contribute to Operation Sea Guardian, whose main objective is to combat illegal activities at sea.

Sella is the second unit of the Segura-class minehunters, and her capabilities—detection, location, identification, and neutralisation of floating obstacles or explosives—increase the operational capacity and effectiveness of this NATO naval group. This helps to ensure the free flow of maritime traffic, which has a direct impact on trade and the supply chain, both of which are essential for global prosperity and well-being.

NATO Standing Naval Groups

The Standing Naval Forces are under the control of NATO's Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), which reports to Allied Command Operations. They are composed of NATO Standing Maritime Groups 1 and 2, and NATO Mine Countermeasures Groups 1 and 2.

This multinational, integrated force is part of the maritime component of the NATO Response Force and is continuously available to perform tasks ranging from participation in exercises to carrying out NATO missions.