Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate HMCS Fredericton, assigned to Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) entered the Black Sea on March 30 to train with Turkish, Bulgarian and Romanian Navy vessels.
During the month of April, HMCS Fredericton will conduct operations in concert with Romanian frigate ROS Regina Maria and other allied ships from Bulgaria and Turkey to enhance the Alliance’s maritime interoperability as participating nations develop familiarity, trust and confidence in each other.
The Canadian frigate arrived in Varna, Bulgaria on April 1 for a port visit. After this port visit Fredericton and Regina Maria will be joined at sea by Bulgarian antisubmarine warfare corvette BGS Reshitelni. The ships will also train with a Bulgarian Air Force asset.
“The next few weeks will provide a fantastic opportunity to develop our interoperability at sea with important allies,” said Commander Trevor MacLean , Commanding Officer HMCS Fredericton . “Ultimately, our deployment and operations in the Black Sea will reinforce, and continue to build upon, the bonds of our alliance. Being able to execute this deployment concurrent to SNMG2’s ongoing activities speaks to our great flexibility as a Task Force.”
Following the completion of the deployment to Black Sea SNMG2 TU.02 will rejoin the other ships of SNMG2, contributing to their current activities and maritime situational awareness.