Open Spirit 2023 international military exercise concludes

On Thursday, 25 May, the international military exercise "Open Spirit 2023", organised by the Latvian Navy, concluded with the discovery of 62 mines. Of these, 57 were destroyed and no explosives were found in five mine hulls. Diving teams surveyed 11 wrecks, identifying 96 mine-like contacts, and searched nine square kilometres of the seabed.

The Open Spirit 2023 exercise aims to destroy explosive ordnance left over from the First and Second World Wars, improving maritime safety in the Baltic Sea.

"I am very pleased with the results of this year's exercise. Although there is still a lot of work to be done, as the number of explosive objects lying at the bottom of the Baltic Sea is significant, every mine found and destroyed is a step towards a safer sea for shipping. It was good to see good cooperation and interoperability between the Latvian Navy and allied navies," said Captain Commander Jānis Auce, Commander of Open Spirit 2023 and Baltic Naval Squadron (BALTRON).

The exercise was attended by the Latvian Navy's Mine Squadron Diving Team and the Mine Warfare Tactical Support Centre, supported by the Patrol Vessel Squadron ship KA-14 Astra. At the same time, the BALTRON exercise also included the staff and supply ship A-53 "Virsaitis".

A total of 10 ships from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Germany and Standing NATO Mine Counter Measures Group One (SNMCMG1), as well as eight teams of divers and underwater robot operators from Latvia, Lithuania, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States and Estonia participated in Open Spirit 2023. 

The exercise took place from 12 to 25 May and involved nearly 500 soldiers.  

Open Spirit is held in rotation in one of the Baltic States and aims to clear shipping lanes and fishing areas of explosive remnants of war, thereby reducing potential risks to maritime safety. The international exercise also helps to improve cooperation and interoperability, tactics and procedures between NATO and Partnership for Peace (PfP) units and their staffs, minesweepers and their diving teams.

BALTRON is one of the longest-running Baltic cooperation projects, implemented since August 1998. The aim of this cooperation format is to ensure a sustained rapid response capability at sea in peacetime and in times of crisis. The first BALTRON Commander was Sea Captain Ilmārs Lešinskis of the Latvian Navy.

SNMCMG1 is one of the four NATO Standing Maritime Groups. NATO Standing Maritime Teams are the maritime components of NATO Response Forces, which act as a rapid reaction force, capable of conducting immediate operations anywhere. The mission of the NATO Standing Maritime Teams is to provide the Alliance with a permanent maritime operational capability, ready to conduct missions in peacetime and crisis.

Up-to-date information on the activities of the Naval Forces is available on the Naval Forces Facebook page @Latvijasjurasspeki and on the Instagram profile @juras_speki.