The Bulgarian Minehunter “Tsibar” Joined the Units of Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group Two (SNMCMG2)

By TOC On Feb 19, 2019

VARNA, Bulgaria (BulgarianMilitary.com) – Yesterday (18th February) with military honors and send-off ceremony, Bulgarian Navy’ minehunter “Tsibar” has sailed to another overseas mission as part of the SNMCMG2 (Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2). The ceremony took place at Varna Naval Base Point and the crew commander is Captain 3rd rank Lachezar Ivanov, learned BulgarianMilitary.com

The ships that are part of the group will visit the towns of Varna and Constanta between 22nd and 25th February, and between 1st and 8th March they will participate in the bilateral Bulgarian-Romanian naval mine warfare exercise “Poseidon – 2019” that is going to take place in the port of Constanta and the maritime areas of Romania.

At yesterday’s ceremony in Varna, the commander of the Bulgarian Navy Rear Admiral Mitko Petev, specified in an interview with bTV that during the next three weeks the ships of the SNMCMG2, part of which is the Bulgarian minehunter “Tsibar” with 45 military crew, would operate in the watershed of the Black Sea, thus demonstrating the Alliance’s commitment and empathy to each country.

“So, that’s not extraordinary. It is not dictated by any military or political necessity,” Rear Admiral Mitko Petev commented further.

“SNMCMG2 is the most prepared group of NATO’s Response Force, the standards in this group are extremely high, but they are not unfamiliar to you,” added Petev in his statement.

The NATO Group will also participate in the Bulgarian-Romanian naval exercise “Poseidon 2019”, which aims at reinforcing the level of interoperability and personnel training when applying NATO procedures and standards while sailing in multinational formations.

“Maritime missions with various scenarios will be carried out. Including countering asymmetric threats and mine countermeasures in a given area,” said the commander of “Tsibar”.

Along with the Bulgarian minehunter, the group currently consists of ships from Germany, Spain, Turkey and Romania.

“Tsibar” will return in Varna after completing its mission on 8th March.

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BulgarianMilitary.com
Source: MoD of the Republic of Bulgaria