The various elements that make up the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF)-led activity TARASSIS kicked off last week with BALTIC EXPRESS. This was a multinational effort to monitor and escort a roll on roll off (RoRo) ferry from the UK to Latvia.
Seamless overwatch
Beginning in Marchwood UK, MV ANVIL POINT set sail early last week, transiting the English Channel, North Sea and Baltic Sea en route to Ventspils, Latvia.
During the voyage, the ship was monitored by multi-Domain UK, Swedish and Danish assets as well as the German Navy’s CTF-BALTIC HQ in Rostock before being handed over to the Latvian Navy for the final part of the journey.
NORTHERN COASTS 25
As ANVIL POINT arrived off Rostock Germany, she was joined by two more ferries, GERMANIA and BRITTANIA SEAWAYS. They formed into a convoy with two separate multi-national Maritime Task Groups as part of the German-led Ex NORTHERN COASTS.
Lt Cdr Stu Willsmore was the JEF HQ liaison officer in CTF-BALTIC HQ during NORTHERN COASTS. He said: “This was a great example of regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea which we hope to build on in the future. It demonstrates how the JEF works with other organisations towards mutual security in the region.”
Naval ships from Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden undertook the escort duties showing cooperation under a simulated threat within the central Baltic Sea before handing over to the Latvian Navy which escorted the ship for the final leg. Safe in Ventspils the ship was unloaded in readiness for a land phase of TARASSIS.
Refining response options
As well as demonstrating the JEF’s ability to coordinate and deploy multi-national power at short notice, TARASSIS is an opportunity to rehearse some of the response plans that form the basis of cooperation among JEF nations in the event of a crisis. BALTIC EXPRESS tested the JEF Response Option for escorting a strategic RoRo vessel, carrying reinforcements to a JEF nation. Multi-Domain monitoring methods were tested in this latest iteration, complementing a more conventional warship escort.
For imagery of TARASSIS please visit our gallery.
