NATO sends more ships to High North "amid increasing operational demands"
The Alliance's Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) has launched its second deployment in Norwegian arctic waters this year.
“The High North is a very important area of interest for the Alliance,” said Royal Netherlands Navy Commodore Arjen Warnaar as several NATO ships started drills in the Norwegian Sea.
It is this year's second arctic deployment of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1.
“Our second deployment here this year demonstrates NATO’s commitment to readiness, cohesion and stability," Warnaar emphasised.
The task group will "strengthen NATO’s presence in the region amid increasing operational demands," the alliance reports.
The SNMG1 is one of four standing NATO maritime groups providing continuous maritime presence and readiness.
At the head of the naval deployment is the Dutch flagship HNLMS Van Amstel. It operates alongside Canada's HMCS St. John’s, Germany's FGS Hamburg, as well as Norwegian ships.
The three frigates set out from Andøya on December 2.
There are several Russian ships in the area. The trawler Karelia slowed down its speed as it passed the naval ships. Nearby is also Russian 'shadow tanker' Viktor Bakaev, as well as several more sanctioned carriers serving Russian interests. Approaching the three frigates is the Russian research ship Akademik Ioffe. The latter is owned by the P.P.Shirshov Institute of Oceanology in Kaliningrad.
