Whilst much of the recent ship attention has been on the tall ships, three NATO ships have arrived at West India Dock.
The arrival of the Estonian Navy Ship EML Wambola (A433) ,Norwegian Navy ship Hinnøy (M343) and the Dutch Navy Ship Schiedam (M860) came as a bit of a surprise, but for security reasons, the visits tend to be low key. The ships are part of the Standing NATO Mine Counter-Measures Group ONE (SNMCMG1).
The Standing NATO Maritime Groups, are a multinational, integrated maritime force made up of vessels from various allied countries. These vessels are permanently available to NATO to perform a variety of tasks ranging from participating in exercises to intervening in operational missions.
These particular ships regularly take part in NATO exercises and the SNMCMG1 ships and crew have been engaged in port visits and mine clearance operations in order to contribute to NATO collective defence and regional security.
The Norwegian Navy ship Hinnøy (M343) and the Dutch Navy Ship Schiedam (M860), last visited West India Dock in November 2015.
Isle of Dogs Life 