Warships call into Kirkwall as part of subsea patrol measures

Four warships from Canada, Poland and Germany, are in Orkney, guarding and patrolling subsea infrastructure.

The NATO ships are conducting vigilance activities and patrolling the waters near Orkney to maintain a clear clear picture of activity on and beneath the surface.

This comes amid an increased threat of covert activities from Russia relating to subsea infrastructure.

The ships are from Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One, and are operating together as a single multinational unit under NATO command.

The group brings together HMCS Edmonton and HMCS Moncton of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Polish Navy’s ORP Mewa, and the German Navy’s FGS Homburg.

They have been conducting vigilance activities and patrolling the waters near Orkney and across the GIUK gap. The cables, pipelines and interconnectors running through these waters carry data and energy that a billion NATO citizens depend on.

Following the visit, the ships will continue those activities before taking part in Exercise Northern Viking.