Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1
Active	1973–present
Allegiance	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Commanders
Current commander	Fregattenkapitän Beata Krol, German Navy

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) standing mine countermeasures immediate reaction force. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability.^[1]

From its activation at Ostend on 11 May 1973, the unit was initially called Standing Naval Force Channel (STANAVFORCHAN).^[2]

STANAVFORCHAN and her sister force Mine Counter Measures Force Mediterranean (MCMFORMED) were tasked in June 1999 to operate in the Adriatic Sea to clear ordnance jettisoned during Operation Allied Force. The combined force comprised 11 minehunters and minesweepers and a support ship. The operation, named Allied Harvest, began on 9 June 1999. Search activities began three days later and lasted 73 days. In total, 93 pieces of ordnance were located and cleared in the nine areas which encompassed 1,041 square nautical miles (3,570 km²; 1,379 sq mi).^[3]

From 3 September 2001 it was known as the Mine Countermeasures Force North Western Europe (MCMFORNORTH) and from 1 January 2005 it became Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1.^[2]

As of 27 October 2024, SNMCMG1 consists of:^[4]

• (Flagship) Elbe-class replenishment ship, Werra
• Hunt-class minehunter, Skalvis
• Tripartite-class minehunter, Lobelia
• Tripartite/Alkmaar-class minehunter, Willemstad [nl]
• Frankenthal-class minehunter, Weilheim
• Tripartite/Éridan-class minehunter, Croix du Sud

• Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2
• Standing NATO Maritime Group 1
• Standing NATO Maritime Group 2

• Official website
• "SNMCMG1 deployment 2013". Polish Navy. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.