| Unit Name: | Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 |
| Dates: | 1968–present |
| Commander1: | Rear Admiral Joaquin Ruiz Escagedo, Spanish Navy |
Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1) is one of NATO's standing naval maritime immediate reaction forces. SNMG1 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability.[1]
In late November 1966, U.S. Rear Admiral Richard G. Colbert prepared a concept paper proposing a permanent Allied Command Atlantic naval contingency force based on Operation Matchmaker, an annual six-month exercise involving ships from NATO navies. The proposed contingency force was approved by NATO in December 1967 and activated in January 1968 as Standing Naval Force Atlantic (STANAVFORLANT).[2]
During the 1990s, STANAVFORLANT was heavily involved in Operation Maritime Monitor (July 1992 to November 1992), Operation Maritime Guard (November 1992 to June 1993) and Operation Sharp Guard (June 1993 to October 1996), the maritime embargo operations in the Adriatic Sea established to ensure compliance by Serbia and Montenegro with United Nations (UN) resolutions 713, 715, 787, 820 and 943. Between November 1992 and June 1996 some 74,000 ships were challenged, almost 6,000 were inspected at sea and more than 1,400 were diverted and inspected in port.[3]
The force was under the operational control of SACLANT until SACLANT was decommissioned in 2003 and it was folded into NATO's Allied Command Operations (ACO) at that time.[4]
The force was re-designated Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 in January 2005.[5]
In September 2007, SNMG1 was in the Red Sea bound for Suez to complete a circumnavigation of Africa when the Jabal al-Tair volcano erupted. SNMG1 ships assisted the Yemeni coast guard in the recovery of their military personnel stationed on the island.[6]
From March 2009 to June 2009 SNMG1 was deployed by NATO off the Somali coast to conduct Operation Allied Protector, to deter, defend and protect World Food Programme (WFP) vessels against the threat of piracy and armed robbery, thereby allowing WFP to fulfill its mission of providing humanitarian aid.[7]
Since August 2009, SNMG1 has been providing ships for NATO's Operation Ocean Shield anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.[8]
On 23–25 March 2012 the group conducted a passing exercise with Carrier Strike Group Twelve, led by, while carrying out Operation Active Endeavor missions in the Mediterranean Sea.[9] The group's commander, Commodore Ben Bekkering, Royal Netherlands Navy visited Enterprise.[10] At the time the group consisted of the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate, the Spanish Navy frigate, the German Navy frigate, and the Royal Canadian Navy frigate .[11]
In November 2018, HNoMS Helge Ingstad was operating with SNMG1 when she was involved in a collision with a Maltese flagged tanker and had to be deliberately run aground to prevent her sinking. The remainder of SNMG1 stood by to provide assistance.[12]
During 2021, SNMG1 was active in the region of the Baltic Sea for 12 days.
As of 20 January 2024, SNMG1 consists of:[13] [14] Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force
| Year | Commander | Ship | Type | Part of task force | Flagship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 |  Rear Admiral Joaquin Ruiz Escagedo (January 1 –) | ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbón | F-100 | January 1 – ongoing | January 1 – ongoing |
| ESPS Cantabria | Replenishment oiler | January 1 – ongoing | n/a | ||
 FGS Bonn | January 1 – ongoing | n/a |
As of 8 January 2023, SNMG1 consists of:[15] [16] Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force
| Year | Commander | Ship | Type | Part of task force | Flagship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 |  Commodore Jeanette Morang (January 1 – January 6) Rear-Admiral Thorsten Marx (January 6 – ongoing) | HNLMS Tromp | September 19 – n/a | September 19 – n/a | |
| FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | Brandenburg-class frigate | January 6 – n/a | n/a | ||
 ORP Generał Tadeusz Kościuszko | Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate | January 6 – n/a | n/a |
In 2022, SNMG1 consisted of:[17] [18] Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force
| Year | Commander | Ship | Type | Part of task force | Flagship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Commodore Ad van de Sande (January 7 – July 8) Commodore Jeanette Morang (July 8 – ongoing) | HNLMS Rotterdam[19] | January 7 – February 4 | January 7 - February 4 | |
 HDMS Peter Willemoes[20] | January 15 – April | n/a | |||
 HMS Kent | Duke-class frigate | January 24 – February 4 | n/a | ||
| FGS Berlin | February 4 – April | February 4 – April 6 | |||
| HNLMS Van Amstel | February 7 – March | n/a | |||
| FGS Erfurt | March 2 – May | n/a | |||
| HNLMS De Zeven Provincien | March 10 – July | April 6 - July | |||
| HMS Northumberland | Duke-class frigate | March – April 20 | n/a | ||
 FS Languedoc | Aquitaine-class destroyer | March – April | n/a | ||
| FS Dixmude | March – April | n/a | |||
| FS Latouche-Tréville | Georges Leygues-class destroyer | March – May | n/a | ||
 HMCS Halifax | April 18 – July | n/a | |||
| FGS Spessart | Rhön-class replenishment oiler | April – August 4 | n/a | ||
| HNLMS Karel Doorman | Joint support ship | May 8 – September 23 | July 8 – September 19 | ||
 NRP Corte-Real | May 27 – September 14 | n/a | |||
| FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | May 30 – July 15 | n/a | |||
| HMS Portland | Duke-class frigate | June 15 – August 4 | n/a | ||
 HNoMS Roald Amundsen | Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate | August 9 – November / December | n/a | ||
| HNoMS Maud | Replenishment oiler | August 29 – November / December | n/a | ||
| HMS Lancaster | Duke-class frigate | August 29 – October 6 | n/a | ||
| FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | September 10 – October 11 | n/a | |||
| HNLMS Tromp | September 19 – ongoing | September 19 – ongoing | |||
| FS Ducuing | D'Estienne d'Orves-class aviso | September 24 – October | n/a | ||
| Absalon-class frigate | October 26 – November / December | n/a |
In 2021, SNMG1 consisted of:[13]
| Year | Commander | Ship | Type | Part of task force | Flagship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Commodore Bradley Peats | HMCS Halifax | Frigate | January 18 – April 12 May 19 – July 10 | January 18 – April 12 May 19 – July 10 |
| HDMS Absalon | Frigate | March 25 – June 18 | April 12 – May 19 | ||
| HMS Lancaster | Frigate | March | n/a | ||
| HMS Westminster | Frigate | March | n/a | ||
| RFA Tiderace | Replenishment Oiler | March | n/a | ||
| FS Bretagne | Destroyer | May 7 – May 14 November 22 – December 15 | n/a | ||
| FS Normandie | Destroyer | May 21 – May 30 September 22 – September 29 | n/a | ||
| HNoMS Storm | Corvette | June 6 – June 18 | n/a | ||
| HNoMS Gnist | Corvette | June 6 – June 18 | n/a | ||
| FS Commandant Blaison | OPV | June 6 – June 18 | n/a | ||
| HMCS Fredericton | Frigate | August 2 – October 5 October 17 – December 15 | August 2 – October 5 October 30 – December 15 | ||
| NRP Corte-Real | Frigate | August 25 – December 15 | n/a | ||
| HNLMS Van Amstel | Frigate | September 6 – December 15 | n/a | ||
| HNoMS Maud | Replenishment Oiler | September 6 – December 3 | n/a | ||
| ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbón | Frigate | September 16 – October 30 | October 5 – October 30 | ||
 BNS Leopold I | Frigate | October 9 – October 29 | n/a |
SNMG1 is a component of the NATO Response Force (NRF).[1]