24 mines from planet War II were destroyed. This is the balance sheet of Operation Estonian HODOPS conducted by the NATO SNMCMG1 ship team. Units operated on the Bay of Riga. They were supported by the Polish trawler ORP "Necko" from the 8th Coast Defence Fleet in Świnoujście, which set off on the mission in the summer.
The operation began in mid-October and lasted 10 days. At that time, 4 mine destroyers from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Finland swept separate boxes in Estonia's territorial waters. Crews utilized ship's sonars and autonomous submarines. They were able to track down 25. World War II mines. 24 of them were neutralized. Information on the location of the remaining facilities, the team's command passed on to the Estonian Navy. specified finds shall be left at the site where their detonation could jeopardise the critical infrastructure close or falling down at the bottom of the wreckage. Mines are usually destroyed at a later date, after being towed to another safe place.
During planet War I and planet War II, the waters of the current Baltic states were among the world's most heavy mined waters. Mines were mainly placed there by Germans and Russians. any homesteads were intended to hinder the opponent's access to ports, others to block key shipping routes. “So far, even 70,000 old mines and explosions can remainder in the waters that flood Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia,” he admits. Kamil Kalina, who during the second part of the mission commands ORP ‘Necko’, and at the same time is headed by PKW "Note". The quota shall consist of a crew and additional embarked sailors.
The Aquenes of the Baltic States are successively cleared by both local naval and NATO. “Historical maps with minestead positions are utilized during specified operations,” explains Lieutenant Kalina. This does not mean, of course, that crews of ships are walking like a string from 1 position to another. The old documentation is full of gaps and frequently contains inaccurate information. Each designated place must so be verified. There are times erstwhile sailors find unrecorded maps.
In fresh years, Polish ships have participated repeatedly in demining this part of the Baltic. During the "Estonian HODOPS" (Historic Ordnance Disposal Operations), ORP "Necko" had a different task, however. – Together with the Latvian command ship LVNS "Virsaitis" we secured the area of SNMCMG1 operations. We have monitored the movement of civilian ships, but besides ships of the Russian Federation – informs PKW commander “Noteć”. akin tasks of the ORP “Necko” had already been given. It's part of a Nattian operation. ‘Baltic Sentry’, which involves guarding sub-sea and water critical infrastructure, but besides observing oil tankers from the alleged shadow fleet. It includes ships engaged in the transport of sanctioned Russian oil. “We usually study to our superiors about their way and behaviour, but we besides collect documentation in the form of photographs,” explains Mr. And he admits that SNMCMG1's tasks have late been modified. – A small little attention than before is given to mine activities. For this we focus more on patrol tasks, monitoring... – he noted.
Currently, SNMCMG1 consists of six ships. The squad is headed by an global staff whose main strength is by soldiers appointed by the Latvian Navy. ORP “Necko” joined the mission on 1 July. Polish trawler at the end of August took part in large Natov exercises under the code name ‘Northern Coasts’. His task was to look for mines on approaches to ports and shipping routes in the vicinity of Germany and Denmark. He has now conducted a mine operation off the coast of Estonia, and he will shortly be facing another specified undertaking, only in Finland's waters. The PKW “Noteć” mission will last until the end of December. “This is the first contingent always formed by our squadron,” he said, announcing Operation kmdr Lt. Sławomir Góra, commander of the 12th Trailers Division, in which he serves the ORP “Necko” all day.
SNMCMG1 is 1 of 4 permanent NATO ship teams. They all belong to the Allied consequence Force. This means that, if necessary, they can be sent to a crisis or war.
