NATO Task Force In Tunisia

As reported earlier this week the NATO’s Standing Mine Counter Measures Group 2 started a 5 day port visit in La Goulette, Tunisia on 9th February.

The task force’s commander Captain Abdülhamit Şener from Turkish Navy hosted a press conference for the Tunisian media on board of his flagship A-577 TCG Sokullu Mehmet Paşa.

After conducting a training exercise with Tunisian Navy the task force will proceed first to Algeria, later to Morocco.

Captain Abdulhamit Sener, an officer in the Turkish Navy and leader of the group, conveyed today in a press conference held on board the Turkish flagship “Mehmetpasa” that mines are a danger to the whole world, given that 45% of transportation operations worldwide happen through the sea.

“And we still have mines left from WWII,” he added. The multinational force conducts regular operations in the Mediterranean to destroy old mines.

The minesweeping process of the fleet includes 3 main steps: localization and classification, identification, and finally neutralization. This year’s group is made of allied forces from the Turkish, Italian, Spanish and British Navies.

Abdulhamit Sener made clear that this annual visit “does not have any political implications.”

Asked about the reasons for this visit to Tunisia, just when the situation in the Arab world is not stable, Abdulhamit Sener replies: “Our visit has been scheduled since last year. We are here as part of cooperation and dialogue with Tunisia. We will conduct an exercise scenario with two oil Tunisian next Monday off the coast of Tunisia. ” This exercise is to train ships to avoid the mines at sea. The five minesweepers, which dropped anchor at the port of La Goulette have on board nearly 300 sailors. 

The ship’s captain said that during the missions of the group, sometimes the frigate still mines dating from World War II “But we have not found any during our visit in Tunisia,” he said before He added: “Moreover, we no longer find mine recent Mediterranean … But there are threats of mines both in the Mediterranean and around the world.” 

Asked about the political significance of this trip, the ship’s commander denies any involvement in political affairs, but said that NATO has long been courteous relations with Tunisia and that intentions are more technical “and pacifists “, as is the case of the exercise scheduled next Monday. It should be remembered that Tunisia is a member of the Mediterranean Dialogue of NATO since 1994. The ship’s captain also adds, that vessels are dependent have not participated in the military mission that took place last year against the Gaddafi regime in Libya.