The ships of Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) and Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1) conducted a port visit in Karlskrona, Sweden recently.
The port visit included visits to local military and civilian officials as well as tours of the ships for both local residents and Swedish military personnel.
Sweden is a NATO Partner nation and NATO ships regularly call on ports in Sweden as part of their routine patrols in the Baltic Sea. These port visits allow the crews to experience a bit of Swedish culture while at the same time conducting exchanges to support interoperability between the NATO ships and those of the Swedish Navy.
The Royal Swedish Navy recently participated in NATO joint exercise Trident Juncture in the waters in and around Norway with two Visby-class corvettes, integrating nicely into the NATO maritime command structure.
Led by Commodore Anders Friis of the Danish Navy, SNMG1 consists of the flagship HDMS Esbern Snare and frigates BNS Louise-Marie and NRP Corte-Real. SNMCMG1 is led by Commander Peter Ramboer of the Belgian Navy and includes the group flagship BNS Godetia and mine countermeasures vessels LNS Kursis, LVNS Rusins, FGS Homburg, HNLMS Makkum and HMCS Summerside.
Karlskrona. Wasn’t that the “Whisky on the Rocks” location?
most expensive run ashore i ever had.