The multinational Mine Countermeasures (MCM) exercise ‘Spanish Minex-14’ concludes in Cartagena and Alicante waters.

A total of twenty ships and four aircraft from eight nations took part in the advanced multinational MCM exercise ‘Spanish Minex-14’ in Cartagena and Alicante from the 11th to the 23rd of September.

‘Spanish Minex-14’ is an annual exercise organized by the Spanish Navy, intended to test and implement common procedures on harbor defense against the threat of naval mines. The participating units were tasked with the mission of clearing the waters of possible mines providing security to shipping, thus enhancing the training level and integration of our units with those of other nations.

One thousand servicemen from eight nations

The exercise was commanded by the Chief of the Mine Countermeasures Force, Spanish Navy Captain Jaime Golmayo on board the OPV ‘Cazadora’, who conducted and monitored the exercise with the participation of more than 1,000 people from Spain, Germany, France, Turkey, Greece, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Spain participated with the minehunters ‘Segura’, ‘Tambre’, ‘Turia’, ‘Duero’ and ‘Tajo’, the submarine ‘Mistral’, the oceanographic research ship ‘Las Palmas’, the patrol vessels ‘Cazadora’ and ‘Toralla’, an SH-3D helicopter from the Aircraft Flotilla, Marine Corps craft, a MCM Divers Unit and two C-101 and a P-3 ‘Orion’ from the Spanish Air Force.

The Standing NATO MCM Group 2 (SNMCMG-2) also participated with the Royal Navy minehunter ‘Grimsby’, the Turkish ‘Erdek’, the German ‘Homburg’, the Greek ‘Evropi’, the Belgian ‘Godetia’ and the Italian ‘Aviere’. The international participation was completed with a French MCM Task Group made up of four minehunters: ‘Croix del Sud’, ‘Orion’, ‘Cephee’ and ‘Eridan’, plus a command and support ship: ‘Var’.

The mines used in the course of the exercise ‘Spanish Minex-14’ were simulated underwater artifacts, totally harmless and iniquitous with the environment and were subsequently collected once the exercise was over. As is the usual case in this type of maneuvers, the sea bottom of the area was cleaned and the accumulated trash removed.