Standing NATO Maritime Group 1

Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one of NATO's standing naval maritime immediate reaction forces. SNMG1 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability.

History In late November 1966, U.S. Rear Admiral Richard G. Colbert prepared a concept paper proposing a permanent Allied Command Atlantic naval contingency force based on Operation Matchmaker, an annual six-month exercise involving ships from NATO navies. The proposed contingency force was approved by NATO in December 1967 and activated in January 1968 as Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT).See also, John B. Hattendorf, “NATO’s Policeman on the Beat: The First Twenty-Years of the Standing Naval Force, Atlantic, 1968-1988,” in: John B. Hattendorf, Naval History and Maritime Strategy: Collected Essays. (Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing, 2000), pp. 187-200.

During the 1990s, STANAVFORLANT was heavily involved in Operation Maritime Monitor (July 1992 to November 1992), Operation Maritime Guard (November 1992 to June 1993) and Operation Sharp Guard (June 1993 to October 1996), the maritime embargo operations in the Adriatic Sea established to ensure compliance by Serbia and Montenegro with United Nations (UN) resolutions 713, 715, 787, 820 and 943. Between November 1992 and June 1996 some 74,000 ships were challenged, almost 6,000 were inspected at sea and more than 1,400 were diverted and inspected in port.

The force was under the operational control of SACLANT until SACLANT was decommissioned in 2003, when it was merged into NATO's Allied Command Operations (ACO).

The force was re-designated Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 in January 2005.

In September 2007, SNMG1 was in the Red Sea bound for Suez to complete a circumnavigation of Africa when the Jabal al-Tair volcano erupted. SNMG1 ships assisted the Yemeni coast guard in the recovery of their military personnel stationed on the island.

From March 2009 to June 2009 SNMG1 was deployed by NATO off the Somali coast to conduct Operation Allied Protector, to deter, defend and protect World Food Programme (WFP) vessels against the threat of piracy and armed robbery, thereby allowing WFP to fulfill its mission of providing humanitarian aid.Counter-piracy Operations. North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Retrieved: 27 December 2013.

Since August 2009, SNMG1 has been providing ships for NATO's Operation Ocean Shield anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.Operation Ocean Shield

On 23–25 March 2012 the group conducted a passing exercise with Carrier Strike Group Twelve, led by , while carrying out Operation Active Endeavor missions in the Mediterranean Sea. The group's commander, Commodore Ben Bekkering of the Royal Netherlands Navy, visited Enterprise. At the time, the group consisted of the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate , the Spanish Navy frigate , the German Navy frigate , and the Royal Canadian Navy frigate .

In November 2018, HNoMS Helge Ingstad of the Royal Norwegian Navy was operating with SNMG1 when she was involved in a collision with a Maltese-flagged tanker and had to be deliberately run aground to prevent her sinking. The remainder of SNMG1 stood by to provide assistance.

During 2021, SNMG1 was active in the region of the Baltic Sea for 12 days.

Current ships In 2026, SNMG1 consisted of:

Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force Year Commander Ship Type Part of task force Flagship 2026 Commodore Arjen S. Warnaar(January 1 – January 15) Rear AdmiralJoaquin Ruiz Escagedo(January 15 – April 10) Commodore Maryla Ingham (April 10 – August 20) Rear Admiral Nicolas Molitor (August 20 – ongoing) Rotterdam-class landing platform dock January 1 – January 15 January 1 – January 15 ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbón Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate January 15 – April 10 January 15 – April 10 SPS Patiño Replenishment Oiler Unknown - unknown n/a FS Commandant Blaison D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso January 19 – March 14 n/a FGS SachsenSachsen-class frigate April 10 – August 20 n/a HNLMS Van Amstel Unknown – unknown n/a NRP Dom Francisco de Almeida Multi-purpose frigate Unknown – ongoing n/a HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate Unknown – unknown n/a BNS Leopold I Karel Doorman-class frigate Unknown – unknown n/a BNS La Fayette Stealth frigate Unknown – unknown n/a FS Flamant Flamant-class patrol vessel Unknown – unknown n/a TCG Oruçreis Barbaros-class frigate Unknown – unknown n/a HNLMS Den Helder Replenishment oiler Unknown – unknown n/a HMCS Ville de QuébecHalifax-class frigate August 20 – ongoing n/a FS Pluvier Flamant-class patrol vessel Unknown – ongoing n/a

Previous task groups In 2025, SNMG1 consisted of:

Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force Year Commander Ship Type Part of task force Flagship 2025 Commodore Thomas Stig Rasmussen(January 1 – January 9) CommodoreArjen S. Warnaar(January 9 – ongoing) HNLMS Tromp January 4 – May 28 January 4 – May FGS Rhön March 19 – December 31 n/a May – September May – September June 27 – unknown n/a FNS Pori July 1 – July 31 n/a HNLMS Van Amstel November 7 – December November - December September – December 31 September – November FGS Braunschweig Unknown – December 31 n/a Unknown – unknown n/a FGS Hamburg Unknown – December 31 n/a

In 2024, SNMG1 consisted of:

Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force Year Commander Ship Type Part of task force Flagship 2024 Rear-Admiral Joaquin Ruiz Escagedo (January 1 – July 11) Commodore Thomas Stig Rasmussen(July 11 – ongoing) ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbón F-100 January 1 – n/a January 1 – n/a ESPS Cantabria Replenishment oiler January 1 – n/a n/a FGS Bonn January 1 – n/a n/a HNoMS Maud Replenishment oiler September 9 – ongoing September 9 – ongoing HNLMS De Ruyter De Zeven Provinciën-class frigate August – n/a n/a NRP Dom Francisco de Almeida Multi-purpose frigate July 31 – n/a n/a FS La Fayette La Fayette class frigate August – n/an/a BNS Louise-MarieOctober – DecemberNo

In 2023, SNMG1 consisted of:

Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force Year Commander Ship Type Part of task force Flagship 2023 Commodore Jeanette Morang (January 1 – January 6) Rear-Admiral Thorsten Marx (January 6 – ongoing) HNLMS Tromp September 19 – n/a September 19 – n/a FGS Mecklenburg-VorpommernBrandenburg-class frigateJanuary 6 – n/an/a ORP Generał Tadeusz KościuszkoOliver Hazard Perry-class frigateJanuary 6 – n/an/a

In 2022, SNMG1 consisted of:

Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force Year Commander Ship Type Part of task force Flagship 2022 Commodore Ad van de Sande (January 7 – July 8)Commodore Jeanette Morang (July 8 – ongoing) HNLMS Rotterdam January 7 – February 4 January 7 - February 4 HDMS Peter Willemoes January 15 – April n/a HMS Kent Duke-class frigate January 24 – February 4 n/a FGS Berlin February 4 – April February 4 – April 6 HNLMS Van Amstel February 7 – March n/a FGS Erfurt March 2 – May n/a HNLMS De Zeven Provincien March 10 – July April 6 - July HMS Northumberland Duke-class frigate March – April 20 n/a FS Languedoc Aquitaine-class destroyer March – April n/a FS Dixmude March – April n/a FS Latouche-Tréville Georges Leygues-class destroyerMarch – Mayn/a HMCS Halifax April 18 – Julyn/a FGS Spessart Rhön-class replenishment oilerApril – August 4n/a HNLMS Karel Doorman Joint support ship May 8 – September 23 July 8 – September 19 NRP Corte-Real May 27 – September 14n/a FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern May 30 – July 15 n/a HMS PortlandDuke-class frigateJune 15 – August 4n/a HNoMS Roald AmundsenFridtjof Nansen-class frigateAugust 9 – November / Decembern/a HNoMS MaudReplenishment oilerAugust 29 – November / Decembern/a HMS LancasterDuke-class frigateAugust 29 – October 6n/a FGS Mecklenburg-VorpommernSeptember 10 – October 11n/a HNLMS Tromp September 19 – ongoing September 19 – ongoing FS DucuingD'Estienne d'Orves-class avisoSeptember 24 – Octobern/a HDMS Esbern Snare Absalon-class frigateOctober 26 – November / Decembern/a

In 2021, SNMG1 consisted of:

Year Commander Ship Type Part of task force Flagship 2021 Commodore Bradley Peats HMCS Halifax Frigate January 18 – April 12May 19 – July 10 January 18 – April 12May 19 – July 10 HDMS Absalon Frigate March 25 – June 18 April 12 – May 19 HMS Lancaster Frigate March n/a HMS Westminster Frigate March n/a RFA Tiderace Replenishment Oiler March n/a FS Bretagne Aquitaine class destroyer May 7 – May 14November 22 – December 15 n/a FS Normandie Aquitaine class destroyer May 21 – May 30September 22 – September 29 n/a HNoMS Storm Corvette June 6 – June 18 n/a HNoMS Gnist Corvette June 6 – June 18 n/a FS Commandant Blaison D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso June 6 – June 18 n/a HMCS Fredericton Frigate August 2 – October 5October 17 – December 15 August 2 – October 5October 30 – December 15 NRP Corte-Real Frigate August 25 – December 15 n/a HNLMS Van Amstel Frigate September 6 – December 15 n/a HNoMS Maud Replenishment Oiler September 6 – December 3 n/a ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbón Frigate September 16 – October 30 October 5 – October 30 BNS Leopold I Frigate October 9 – October 29 n/a During this deployment, SNMG1 took part in numerous exercises including: TG 21-1 from February 8 to February 19 in Norway Dynamic Guard 21 from February 24 to February 26 in Norway Joint Warrior 21-1 from May 7 to May 14 in the United Kingdom Steadfast Defender 21 from May 21 to June 2 in Portugal BALTOPS50 from June 6 to June 18 in the Baltic Sea Dynamic Mongoose 21 from July 1 to July 9 in Norway Joint Warrior 21-2 from 18 September to 30 September 2021 in the United Kingdom FLOTEX 21 from November 22 to December 3 in Norway Exercise REP(MUS) from 12 September to 22 September in Portugal

Standing NATO Maritime Group 1

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