Dutch Ship Takes On NATO Flagship Mine Role

The Royal Netherlands Navy vessel HNLMS Luymes will be the flagship of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) for the next four months.

The hydrographic survey vessel set sail just after the turn of the New Year to join the group, one of two permanent NATO fleet mine countermeasures units. One of its chief tasks is clearing legacy explosives from previous military engagements in the North Sea, Baltic Sea, and Atlantic Ocean. 

Command of SNMCMG1 last week passed from outgoing chief and German Navy Commander Beata Król to Belgian Navy Commander Erik Kockx. During Cdr. Król’s 12-month tenure, a total of 17 units from nine Allied nations took part, as well as mine disposal diving teams from Portugal and Latvia. In that period SNMCMG1 found and disposed of 51 sea mines, “countermining” 38 of them — i.e. defusing them, making them safe, and investigating their provenance.

SNMCMG1 also took part in exercises including Freezing Winds 2024 and trained in conjunction with a range of other forces and task groups including the Lithuanian Navy and Air Force, Latvian Air Force and Standing NATO Maritime Group 1.

Cdr. Król commented: “I want to express my sincere gratitude for the unwavering backing from Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM), which helped me navigate through rough waters.

“I also deeply appreciate the trust placed in me by the soldiers under my command. Their dedication and professionalism have been truly inspiring.”

Named after a Dutch luminary of hydrography, HNLMS Luymes is one of two such survey vessels deployed by the Royal Netherlands Navy; her sister ship is the HNLMS Snellius. Another Dutch vessel, the minehunter HNLMS Schiedam, is due to join SNMCMG1 later in the year.

• You can read more details on the Royal Netherlands Navy website and the MARCOM website