Minehunter ‘Duero’ (M-35) to participate in a NATO-led deployment in the Mediterranean Sea.

Minehunter ‘Duero’ has departed this Wednesday, August 31st from her home port in Cartagena to begin a deployment integrated into one of NATO's standing groups, the mine countermeasures group Number 2 (SNMCMG-2).

During the coming months, this group will sail in waters of the Mediterranean Sea, carrying out countermeasures operations to guarantee freedom of navigation and participating in multinational exercises to increase availability of assets and training. In addition, it will contribute to support operation ‘Sea Guardian’ whose main objective is the fight against illegal activities at sea.

The participation of the ‘Duero’ in these operations strengthens Spain's commitment to the Alliance and contributes to the unity and interoperability of NATO forces.

SNMCMG-2 is currently commanded by Turkey, after having relieved Spain last July. Together with the SNMCMG-1 it is part of NATO’s Response Forces (NRF) and can perform a wide range of functions, from humanitarian aid tasks to countermining operations. Due to their special features, these units are always ready to operate at short notice.

The ‘Duero’, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Jerónimo de Ugarte de Blanco, is the fifth unit of the ‘Segura’-class minehunters. Her crew is made up of 46 people and form a team specialized in the detection, classification and destruction/neutralization of sea mines. The ship has a variable depth sonar and two underwater vehicles as the main means to execute these tasks. She was launched in 2003 and delivered to the Navy in 2004. Since then the M-35 has participated in multiple national and international operations and exercises related to mine warfare.