Ships assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) recently completed passing exercises with the Royal Moroccan Navy (RMN) off the coast of Casablanca following the Group’s visit to the city.
SNMG2 is currently comprised of the U.S. flagship USS Vicksburg (CG 69), Canadian ship HMCS Fredericton (FFH 337), Italian ship ITS Aliseo (F 547), German oiler FGS Spessart (A 1442), Turkish ship TCG Goksu (F 497) and French oiler FS Marne (A 630).
RMN ships RMNS Allal ben Abdellah (F 615) and RMNS Hassan II (F 612) participated in the exercises at sea. The exercises were designed to train ships’ personnel to rapidly integrate and operate as a cohesive force. The training included communications drills to ensure the units could share information, maneuvering drills to practice ship handling in close proximity, and boarding exercises between ships.
The second day of the exercise was slightly impacted by low visibility due to fog cover which presented a valuable training opportunity.
The last NATO maritime force to visit Casablanca was Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group TWO in September 2014.
[mappress mapid=”15599″]
Image: US Navy