Solberg visits Norwegian NATO ship

Norwegian Prime minister Erna Solberg and Minister of Defence Frank Bakke-Jensen visit the frigate HNoMS Otto Sverdrup in Oslo, which is the leader vessel of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 in the first half of 2020. Commodore Yngve Skoglund tel them about Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 at the vessels bridge.Photo;Torbjørn Kjosvold

KNM Otto Sverdrup will be the flagship of NATO’s standing maritime force for the next six months. On Friday, Prime Minister Erna Solberg (Høyre/Conservative Party) visited the frigate in Oslo.

On December 9th, Norway assumed command of the US forces.

The mission is to defend NATO waters. The naval forces are sailing, patrolling and training in Europe’s waters, and the fleets are the first to deploy if needed.

In the force, Norway provides the leadership in the form of Commander Yngve Skoglund (54) and with the frigate KNM Otto Sverdrup. The force will sail in the North Atlantic and the Baltic for the next few months.

“The last month we have been training and preparing, and now we are starting. It feels good,” says Skoglund in a press release.

Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen (Høyre) also received a tour of the flagship of the standing maritime force.

This is the second time a Norwegian frigate has been on the alert for NATO since frigate KNM Helge Ingstad sank in November 2018.

On Wednesday, Norway also took over the command of NATO’s Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1, SNMCMG1. The change of command took place during a solemn ceremony at Akershus Fortress in Oslo. For the past year, Denmark has been in command of the force.

This force also has Norwegian leadership during the period under the command of Captain Henning Knudsen-Hauge, who together with his staff is on the German logistics vessel FGS Donau. The fleet will eventually consist of nine vessels, among them the Norwegian mine clearance vessel KNM Rauma.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today

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