German frigate FGS Brandenburg concludes NATO SNMG2 deployment

German Navy frigate FGS Brandenburg is on her way home after spending six months as the lead ship of NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 in the Aegean Sea.

Brandenburg is set to return to her homeport in Wilhelmshaven on September 8 after an eventful deployment.

The frigate’s mission was to lead a NATO group of ships monitoring and patrolling the Aegean Sea off the Turkish coast.

Another goal was to increase the cooperation between the European border agency Frontex and the maritime authorities of Turkey and Greece. By doing so, NATO hopes to curb the migration flow and smuggling activities in the Aegean Sea.

During her first month on the job, FGS Brandenburg ran aground while departing the port of Piraeus, Greece, colliding with a jetty and sustaining considerable damage.

According to German media, FGS Brandenburg damaged her rudder and both propellers and was only partially operational.

Following the accident, FGS Brandenburg was towed to a Hellenic Navy base in the port of Salamis for repairs.

Brandenburg returned to sea after approximately a month of repairs. The ship ran aground on April 17 and was seen in the Chios Strait in late May.

Taking Brandenburg’s place in another German frigate, F122 Bremen-class frigate FGS Lübeck, which got underway on August 21.

Lübeck is the fifth German Navy ship to be sent to the Aegean Sea since February 2016, when NATO started its contribution to the establishment of a maritime situational awareness in the region.

The flagship for SNMG2 is currently the Royal Navy destroyer HMS Duncan.