HMS Grimsby helps recover six historic mines

30/09/2015

In the midst of a week long NATO exercise the Royal Navy vessel has helped find and recover six historic mines.

Faslane based, HMS Grimsby joined fellow members of NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) for Exercise Northern Coast 15.

For a week the minehunter worked with vessels from Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Estonia and Latvia to hunt and recover dummy mines as part of the exercise off the Danish coast.

However in the course of their role play they helped make improvements to navigational safety by discovering and removing six historic mines.

Lieutenant Commander Neil Griffiths, Commanding Officer of Grimsby, said: “It was a privilege to be a part of such a highly trained group of ships, from such a wide range of nations and it was a pleasure to be able to carry out the work we did to make the waters safer and ensure the freedom of navigation in the area.”

 

It was a privilege to be a part of such a highly trained group of ships, from such a wide range of nations and it was a pleasure to be able to carry out the work we did to make the waters safer and ensure the freedom of navigation in the area.

Lieutenant Commander Neil Griffiths

Crew 5, who currently operate Grimsby, led the charge during Exercise Northern Coast, fending off simulated attacks with aggression but also some British flair.

With the aid of her highly trained Clearance Diving team, she recovered a total of five mines during the exercise, a number only equalled by HNOMS Hinnoey, her Norwegian counterpart.

Able Seaman (Diver) Michael Scott, a member of the ships mine clearance diving team, said: “During the exercise I got to recover one of the drill mines that were positioned for us to train with.

“We used a piece of equipment called the ‘enclosed mine lifting bag’, which uses compressed gas to lift the mine from the seabed. This then allows us to recover it onboard much easier.”

Source: Royal Navy, UK.