Polish missile frigate leaves the Naval Port of Gdynia to join the NATO Standing Maritime Team

President Andrzej Duda has decided on the use of the Polish Military Contingent as part of the NATO Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) in the Baltic, North Sea, Norwegian and Mediterranean Seas and in the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. A farewell ceremony for the missile frigate ORP Gen. T. Kościuszko will take place on Wednesday.

On 22 December 2022, President Andrzej Duda issued a decision on the use of the Polish Military Contingent from 1 January to 30 June this year. Polish Military Contingent as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) in operations in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean.

The Contingent will comprise up to 230 soldiers and personnel equipped with the ship ORP Gen. T. Kościuszko.

According to the 3rd Flotilla of Ships, the missile frigate ORP Gen. T. Kościuszko together with the SH-2G deck helicopter embarked on it will join the NATO Standing Ship Team Group 1, which consists of three ships: the team’s flagship – the Dutch missile frigate HNLMS Tromp, the Danish command ship HDMS Esbern Snare and the French frigate FS Chevalier Paul. The team is led by Commander Jeanette Morang.

According to the President’s order, the general terms of reference of the Contingent will include: defending allied shipping against surface ships, submarines and aviation; protecting designated areas and ports, building operational awareness by patrolling routes and demonstrating NATO’s presence, unity and resolve; escorting civilian allied vessels out of the operational area; and locating, identifying, tracking and inspecting selected vessels suspected of conducting human, weapons and cargo smuggling activities.

As announced by the Armed Forces Operational Command on Facebook, a farewell ceremony for the missile frigate ORP Gen. T. Kościuszko will take place on Wednesday 4 January.

SNMG-1 is one of the two permanent ship teams of the North Atlantic Alliance, comprising selected destroyers and frigates of member states. The backbone of the team is made up of vessels from the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands, which are periodically joined by vessels from Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, Spain and Poland. SNMG-1 conducts exercises both as a team and with naval force ships of NATO and Partnership for Peace member states. The multinational elite team is maintained at the highest level of combat readiness and is designed for immediate response in crisis situations, peacekeeping operations and in the event of war.

Source: PortalMorski.pl