Five vessels of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2 (SNMCMG2) were welcomed into Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi earlier today, with the interior ministry's coast guard department hosting the group for joint drills.
Involving ships from Bulgarian, Italian, Romanian, Turkish and Spanish navies, the immediate reaction force fleet was welcomed by local authorities in Batumi before the Georgian coast guard and the NATO group embark on manoeuvres.
After the arrival of #SNMCMG2 in Batumi, Georgia ????????, a Welcome ceremony was held by local civilian and military authorities with the presence of @COM_SNMCMG2, Commanding Officers ???????????????????????????????????????? of the Group's Units #WeAreNATO #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/e91eFxYRpc
— Commander SNMCMG2 (@COM_SNMCMG2) September 28, 2021
The ministry said the drills would involve overseeing NATO Evaluation Level 2 (NEL-2) assessments for the Georgian coast guard's ship boarding groups, marking the final phase of a four-year assessment process for their capabilities.
The joint actions will also serve a wider goal of developing interoperability between Georgian and NATO maritime forces, the ministry also noted. The latest visit of alliance ships continues a trend of cooperation that has seen Batumi and Poti ports host fleets and individual vessels from alliance member states over the past years.
The visiting fleet was welcomed by military and civilian authorities in the port city. Photo via Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.
Commanded by Captain Javier Nunez de Aparicio of the Spanish navy, the SNMCMG2 has been active since 1999 in operations for clearing sea areas of ordnance, and has involved minehunter and minesweeper vessels for the task.
Led by the Spanish navy Meteoro-class patrol vessel Rayo in the role of the fleet's flagship, the group visited Istanbul last week before departing for its arrival in Batumi.
The group is part of the NATO Response Force, a joint land, air and sea assets force kept on high readiness for immediate deployment by the alliance and created in 2003.