They travelled 15,000 miles, spent a full of 122 days at sea, carried out 73 inspections of ships passing through the Baltic, and besides took part in 2 exercises and 2 operations to remove old mines – this is the balance of the six-year ORP mission "Necko" in the Natovian SNMCMG1 team. The ship operated as PKW "Note".
ORP “Necko” during PKW “Noteć”, photograph by MW
– It was a fantastic experience. Six months in the squad can give the crew as much as respective years of training in the country – according to Lieutenant Commander Kacper Kalina, who in the second part of the mission commanded ORP ‘Necko’ and located on board the ship by a Polish contingent. A Kmdr. Paweł Chomiuk, who served as commander in the first part of the mission, adds: "I think our sailors could now join the crew of any allied antimine ship and... they could manage it. It's a substance of procedure we've been dealing with all day for the last six months.
Polish ships have been joining SNMCMG1 for more than 20 years, but the ORP mission “Necko” was at least unique in respective respects. A trawler was sent to the team, and that doesn't happen often. usually the main strength of SNMCMG1 is the destroyers of mines. Not much: for the first time in the past of the Polish Navy, specified a tiny ship gained military contingent status. The pedigree of the unit itself reaches the end of the 1980s. She has late undergone a major modernization, which was primarily about replacing engines, but the possible of spending six months outside the home base was inactive a challenge for her. Meanwhile, the ORP “Necko”, as the sailors themselves emphasize, has done an excellent job. – The engines proved to be reliable and economical. Through the mission we went through practically unfailingly – stresses Mr.Komiuk.
The Polish trawler formally became part of the band on 1 July last year. For the first month, however, he did his own tasks. He regularly left the port of Świnoujście to monitor shipping routes as well as critical infrastructure in the Baltic. These actions were part of the Natovian Operation Baltic Sentry, which was launched in early 2025 after a series of harm to offshore cables and pipelines.
ORP “Necko” during PKW ‘Note’, photograph of MW
In August, ORP “Necko” joined SNMCMG1to operate with ships of respective another countries. During this time, the squad took part in 2 major exercises. First of them – ‘Northern Coasts’ – were organized in the summertime off the coast of Germany and Denmark. The ORP crew “Necko” swept the areas between Rugia and Bornholm indicated by command in search of exercise mines. Subsequent maneuvers took place in the winter off the coast of Finland. The participants of the Freezing Winds focused on securing shipping routes, combating diversions and preparations to repel landing operations. Most of the activities were carried out on the alleged Archipelago Sea, i.e. an aquence of nearly 40,000 smaller and larger islands.
In addition to training, SNMCMG1 ships besides participated in 2 combat operations – off the coast of Estonia and then Finland. The alleged HODOPS was to search and destruct mines from both planet wars. Within a twelve days, the crew had eliminated more than 50 specified facilities.
However, patrol activities remained the most crucial for the crew of the Polish ship. During the mission, sailors from the ORP “Necko” monitored the movement of respective twelve units. any of them were suspected of being part of a shadow fleet that is active in exporting oil-embarked Russia. any units besides performed suspicious maneuvers around critical infrastructure. “Sometimes ships go without the AIS recognition strategy on, or stand in drift in areas where pipelines or telecommunications cables run down the bottom,” explains Mr Kalina. – In specified cases contact with the crew should be established. Make an effort to get information from her, show her presence – she states. If specified an event occurs in the territorial waters of the country concerned, it should be alerted immediately. In any case, the study besides goes to the CTF-B, the late formed NATO command for the Baltic, which is presently stationed in Rostock. But as Lieutenant Kalina admits, usually the attention on the ship alone is adequate for a suspicious unit to turn on the AIS or distance itself from critical infrastructure. Of course, the Nattarian crews must besides number on the presence of ships of the Russian Federation. In specified cases as seafarers admit, caution and caution should be exercised to avoid escalation. “For me, the interaction with Russian armed forces was possibly the biggest challenge of this mission. I can't talk about the details, but I assure you that everything took place in accordance with the procedures – noted Mr. Chomiuk.
During the six-month mission, the ORP “Necko” travelled a distance of 15,000 miles. Together the sailors spent 122 days at sea, the ship wrapped up in 15 abroad ports. The crew besides conducted 73 hallings, so many times making contact with another units to verify their course or affiliation.
The PKW mission “Noteć” ended on 31 December. In the meantime, in early January, on a mission to SNMCMG1 he left the Świnoujście ORP ‘Contradmiral Xavery Czernicki’. For the next six months, the ship will service as the team's flagship unit to guide kmdr Lt. Casper Sterne and a staff composed mostly of Polish officers and officers.
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