Dutch frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën entering the Stockholm port of Frihamnen on Friday.
Photo: Linus Ehn/Swedish Armed Forces
HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën docks the quay in the Stockholm port of Frihamnen. The naval visit has been scheduled for a long time.
Photo: Linus Ehn/Swedish Armed Forces
Canadian frigate HMCS Halifax enters the Stockholm port of Frihamnen.
Photo: Linus Ehn/Swedish Armed Forces
On 29 April, Dutch frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën, Canadian frigate HMCS Halifax, German corvette FGS Erfurt and a German tanker entered the Stockholm port of Frihamnen. The ships form part of the Standing Nato Maritime Group 1 (SNMG). French destroyer Latouche-Tréville, which is also part of the SNMG 1, remains at sea.
Naval visits are a regular occurrence and are carried out to allow the crew to rest, and for the ships to bunker food and other supplies. Next week, the SNMG 1 ships will continue to participate in exercises with the Swedish Navy in the Baltic Sea. The exercises aim to improve collaboration and operational capability.
"Nato is learning from Swedish insights and expertise in the operational field, and I appreciate these high-level exercises that we regularly conduct together with the Swedish Navy", says Commodore Ad van de Sande, Commander of the SNMG 1.
Six Nato members have coasts along the Baltic Sea and regularly participate in exercises with the Swedish and Finnish navies.