"Werra" and "Weilheim" are at home for Christmas

On Wednesday, 18 December 2024, at 10 a.m., the tender "Werra" and the minesweeper "Weilheim" will return to their home port of Kiel.

They will then have months of training and manoeuvres behind them. Tender "Werra" has been at sea as the lead ship with an international staff on board since July. The unit was part of the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG 1). Since September, the minehunting boat "Weilheim" has been part of the task force consisting of five minehunting units. The NATO unit specialises in searching for and destroying sea mines. These include legacy mines, particularly from the years after the Second World War. These include sea mines, torpedoes and bombs, which pose an increasing danger due to their decay.

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 operates in the English Channel, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. A total of 17 harbours in seven countries were called at, including Amsterdam, Oslo, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga and Copenhagen. Participation in three manoeuvres took place under sometimes adverse weather conditions and during this time, many of the "contaminated sites" detected were cleared by the units. The navy did not provide any figures. After arriving in Kiel, the tender "Werra" and the minehunter "Weilheim" will remain on standby until 10 January next year. After one year of command of the SNMCMG 1 by the German Navy, it is taken over by the Belgian Navy. The change of command and the ceremony will take place in Kiel on 10 January 2025.

NATO maintains four permanent maritime task forces that have been in operation for decades, even during the Cold War. Germany is proud to have at least one of these units manned by a ship or boat at all times. Together with air and land forces as well as special forces, these form the NATO Response Force (NRF). The units in these formations have completed a training programme lasting several months and have a high level of equipment and training. They are under the overall command of the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR).