On June 25 the Kuršis (M54) of the Lithuanian Navy will depart from to join the Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1) for a six-month standby period and take part in the actions of the SNMCMG1 in the Baltic Sea.
During the standby period the Kuršis M54 will participate in SNMCMG1 training and operations in the Baltic Sea, and conduct port visits to Estonia, Denmark and Germany, under the lead of Lieutenant (Navy) Nedas Ignatavičius. The vessel is schedule to return to Klaipėda early in August.
The following Lithuanian vessel to be assigned to the SNMCMG1 will be the Jotvingis (N42), a command and supply ship of the Lithuanian Navy, which will serve as the flagship of the SNMCMG1, while Commander Giedrius Premeneckas will be the SNMCMG1 commander.
Vessels of the Belgian, Estonian, Dutch and Norwegian navies currently comprising the SNMCMG1 conducted a port visit in Klaipėda in May.
The Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1) is a multinationally formed rapid response mine countermeasures naval unit sustaining a permanent NATO mine countermeasures capability for peacetime, war or armed conflict.
The unit operates in the Northern European waters (the North and the Baltic Seas most usually) completing maritime mine clearance operations, other multinational NATO maritime training events, and joint exercises with NATO partner nations. Mine countermeasures and supply vessels as well as the unit's commander and staff are assigned by NATO's naval member states to complete the SNMCMG1 objectives on a 6 to 12-month rotational basis.
POC: CIMIC senior executive officer for the Lithuanian Navy PO2 Audrius Vitkauskas, mobile phone no. 00370 673 17239.
Photo credits: PO2 Audrius Vitkauskas and crew of the Kuršis (M54).
