MHC Vahterpää gets off to a strong start in SNMCMG1
On 3 April 2024, the Finnish Navy’s MHC Vahterpää joined the Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) for the following nine weeks. During the first weeks of the period coincided the Estonian Navy-led Operation Open Spirit 2024, in which the detachment will search for and clear wartime sea mines and historical ordance in Estonian waters. The Finnish vessel and its crew have immediately demonstrated their capabilities with a strong contribution to mine countermeasures.
Already in the first days of the operation, more than 15 historic explosives were found, of which more than 5 were cleared. MHC Vahterpää was responsible for the destruction of four of these. The Finnish vessel's modern technology and motivated personnel, well trained for their tasks, will bring significant added value to the NATO detachment.
MHC Vahterpää is the first unit in the Finnish Navy to be subordinated to NATO under the Transfer of Authority (TOA) procedure, which means that until 31 May 2024, the ship will carry out missions ordered by NATO's Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM). The area of operations covers the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea. The detachment currently comprises a total of 7 vessels from Germany, Estonia, the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway and France, in addition to Finland. The flag ship is the German FGS Donau.
Careful preparation and recruitment
MHC Vahterpää is part of the 4th Mine Countermeasures Squadron of the Coastal Fleet, where it has two identical sister ships, MHC Katanpää and MHC Purunpää. Preparations for the NATO mission meant a busy few months for the squadron and the ship before departure. Although Vahterpää and its sister ships have previously operated together with the SNMCMG1, this is a clearly different, much larger entity, not only in terms of TOA procedure, but also in terms of duration and area of operation.
- We joined a NATO detachment for the first time, which means that our tasks and responsibilities in the detachment are now different. We receive our orders from the Commander of SNMCMG1 and carry them out with the same professionalism and uncompromising attitude as we do when carrying out missions at home," says MHC Vahterpää's Commander, Lieutenant Commander Henri Savisaari.
The nine-week continuous deployment, extending further than ever before, significantly increased the workload in terms of contingency and arrangments and also challenged logistical planning. In addition, personnel had to be recruited to replace the conscripts normally serving on board. In addition to Vahterpää's own personnel, 12 contracted soldiers were recruited for the deployment, all of whom already had previous service experience with the 4th Mine Countermeasures Squadron.
Finland commits to NATO's peacetime common defence tasks
Cooperation in the SNMCMG1 has got off to a smooth start. The modus operandi has
already become familiar from joint training exercises in previous years. Open Spirit 2024, which is now underway, offers the participating vessels the opportunity not only to support the main objective of the operation - enhancing maritime security in the Baltic Sea - also focus on the training of the main task, such as the overall performance of mine countermeasures from mine detection to destruction. At the same time, Finland is able to demonstrate its capabilities as an ally and its commitment to NATO's peacetime common defence tasks.
Open Spirit 2024 is an international mine countermeasures operation focusing on the search and clearance of historical sea mines. In addition to the SNMCMG1, seven other ships are participating in the operation, with a total of 16 different allied or partner countries participating. Finland has been participating in Open Spirit Operations for the last 20 years, and all this experience is very much beneficial in the now ongoing operation.
