HMS Ramsey returns to UK after NATO mission

Maritime August 20, 2019

HMS Ramsay has returned to Clyde after taking part in a NATO mission hunting mines in the Baltic sea.

The Sandown-class minehunter has returned after deployment on a NATO mission in the Baltic and the North Sea conducting mine security. HMS Ramsay was working with the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) on safety operations in the area.

The ship and its crew worked with other nations completing historical ordnance disposal in the North Atlantic. The NATO task group included MCMVs from the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, and the UK with the Danish vessel HDMS Thetis as the Group Flagship.

Commanding Officer of the HMS Ramsay Lieutenant Commander Peter Ellison said: “This has been a valuable and successful deployment demonstrating the UK’s commitment to NATO and helping to keep maritime trade routes open.”

“My team have delivered on operations and now look forward to a period of well-deserved leave. The opportunity to welcome family and friends on board is something we all look forward to and I am delighted to be able to show them my appreciation for their outstanding support throughout our deployment.”

Primarily deployed to the Baltic and North Atlantic region, SNMCMG1 is a permanent and high readiness task group which provides NATO with an immediate operational response capability both in peacetime and in crisis. Ramsey’s first major test was Exercise Open Spirit – a period of historical ordnance disposal off the coast of Lithuania where they helped to clear nine WWII and WWI mines.

The HMS Ramsay also completed BALTOPS ahead of a deployment break. The ship also worked off the coast of the Netherlands and Denmark demonstrating MCM skills removing historic mines from the sea.

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Baltops Clyde HMS Ramsay mine hunter NATO Royal Navy security