NATO to clear WW-II sea mines in fjords of Norway
Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 has concluded a historical ordnance disposal operation in Norwegian waters and contributing to the Norwegian compiled historic ordnance database.
Eight historic mines were found between 4-12 August 2020 in Lofoten and Tromso. In total, two mine-hunters and a flagship from three separate nations engaged in the mission, looking for an area of 16 square nautical miles and disposing of three ancient mines from previous operations, taking all the measures possible to protect the safety of the sea.
Throughout the Second World War, Allied forces laid mines off the Norwegian coast from surface boats, submarines and aircraft with the intention of disrupting and stopping German convoys, troop transport and warships along the coast.
Through disposing of marine mines, the group has made the sea a safer place for fishermen, traders, underwater operations and civilian installations.
While the mines are no longer operational, they still pose a threat if they are inadvertently caused by anchoring, divers or other operations on the seabed.
SNMCMG1 is one of the four NATO Response Forces that form the maritime component of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), part of the NATO Response Force (NRF).
SNMCMG1 currently consists of four assets: HNoMS Maaloey (Norway), ENS Admiral Cowan (Estonia), FGS Groemitz (Germany) and LNS Jotvingis (Lithuania).
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