Standing NATO Maritime Group 2

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) standing maritime immediate reaction force. SNMG2 consists of four to six destroyers and frigates. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability.^[1]

Standing NATO Maritime Group 2
Active	1992–present
Allegiance	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Commanders
Current commander	Rear Admiral H. Ilker Avci, Turkish Navy

History

Portuguese frigate NRP Corte Real and Turkish frigate TCG Gelibolu, participating in SNMG-2 during Phoenix Express (PE 08).

Standing Naval Force Mediterranean (STANAVFORMED) was activated on 30 April 1992, at Naples, Italy. STANAVFORMED was the successor to the NATO Naval On-Call Force Mediterranean (NAVOCFORMED) – which had been periodically activated for more than 20 years.^[2]

During the 1990s, STANAVFORMED 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]

On 6 October 2001, STANAVFORMED deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in support of Operation Active Endeavour, NATO's maritime contribution to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction.^[4]

The force was re-designated Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 in January 2005.^[5]

From June 2009 to August 2009 SNMG2 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.^[6]

Since August 2009, SNMG2 has been providing ships for NATO's Operation Ocean Shield anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.^[7]

In 2019, SNMG2 was tasked with patrol of the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea.^[8] In 2021, SNMG2 took part in Exercise Sea Breeze 2021 in the Black Sea, co-hosted by the Ukrainian Navy and the United States Sixth Fleet.^[9][10]

Current ships

As of 3 January 2025, SNMG2 consists of:^[11]

  Previous flagship

  Current flagship

Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force

Year	Commander	Ship	Type	Part of task force	Flagship
2025	Rear Admiral H. Ilker Avci (January – ongoing)	TCG Kemalreis	Barbaros-class-class frigate	January – ongoing	January – ongoing

Previous task groups

As of 20 January 2024, SNMG2 consisted of:^[11][12][13]

  Previous flagship

  Current flagship

Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force

Year	Commander	Ship	Type	Part of task force	Flagship
2024	Rear Admiral Pasquale Esposito (January – July 1) Commodore Matthew Coates (July 1 – December 3) Rear Admiral H. Ilker Avci (December 3 – ongoing)	ITS Carlo Bergamini	Carlo Bergamini-class destroyer	January – n/a	January – n/a
		HMCS Charlottetown	Halifax-class frigate	July 1 – December 3	July 1 – December 3
		ESPS Cristóbal Colón	Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate	July 1 – December 3	n/a
		TCG Yıldırım	Yavuz-class frigate frigate	July 1 – December 3	n/a
		TCG Kemalreis	Barbaros-class-class frigate	December 3 – ongoing	December 3 – ongoing

As of 16 February 2023, SNMG2 consisted of:^[11][12][13]

  Previous flagship

  Current flagship

Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force

Year	Commander	Ship	Type	Part of task force	Flagship
2023	Rear Admiral Michael Scott Sciretta (January – July) Commodore Paul Stroude (July – December 7) Rear Admiral Pasquale Esposito (December 7 – n/a)	USS James E. Williams	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer	January – July	January – July
		ITS Carlo Margottini	Bergamini-class frigate	January – n/a	n/a
		TCG Barbaros	Barbaros-class frigate	January – n/a	n/a
		HS Psara	Hydra-class frigate	January – n/a	n/a
		HMCS Fredericton	Halifax-class frigate	January – n/a	n/a
		HMS Duncan	Type 45 Destroyer	July – December 7	July – December 7
		ITS Carlo Bergamini	Carlo Bergamini-class destroyer	December 7 – n/a	December 7 – n/a

In 2022, SNMG2 consisted of:^[11]

  Previous flagship

  Current flagship

Ships in bold are currently part of the naval force

Year	Commander	Ship	Type	Part of task force	Flagship
2022	Rear Admiral Mauro Panebianco (January – July) Rear Admiral Michael Scott Sciretta (1 July – July 2023)	ITS Carlo Margottini	Bergamini-class frigate	January – July	January – July
		TCG Göksu	Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate	January – April	n/a
		FGS Lübeck	Bremen-class frigate	January – 1 June	n/a
		ESPS Blas de Lezo	Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate	22 January – 30 June	n/a
		FS Auvergne	Aquitaine-class frigate	22 February – May	n/a
		HMS Trent	River-class offshore patrol vessel	February – March	n/a
		HS Aegean	Elli-class frigate	March –	n/a
		ITS Stromboli	Stromboli-class replenishment oiler	March –	n/a
		HMCS Montréal	Halifax-class frigate	March – July	n/a
		HMS Diamond	Type 45 destroyer	March – April	n/a
		TCG Barbaros	Barbaros-class frigate	24 March – 30 May	n/a
		FS Alsace	Aquitaine-class frigate	4 April – May	n/a
		ESPS Cantabria	Replenishment oiler	10 May – 26 June	n/a
		FS Forbin	Horizon-class frigate	May – 16 June	n/a
		FGS Bonn	Berlin-class replenishment ship	29 May – June	n/a
		TCG Salihreis	Barbaros-class frigate	30 May – July	n/a
		FS Provence	Aquitaine-class frigate	16 June – 31 July	n/a
		USS Forrest Sherman	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer	1 July – 13 December	1 July – 13 December
		TCG Kemalreis	Barbaros-class frigate	1 July – September	n/a
		ITS Vulcano	Logistic support ship	14 July – 28 July	n/a
		HS Kountouriotis	Kortenaer-class frigate	20 July – August	n/a
		ESPS Almirante Juan de Borbón	Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate	24 July – 6 September	n/a
		FS Languedoc	Aquitaine-class frigate	31 July – 6 September	n/a
		FGS Bonn	Berlin-class replenishment ship	16 August – September	n/a
		ITS Antonio Marceglia	Bergamini-class frigate	21 August – September	n/a
		ESPS Cristóbal Colón	Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate	13 September – 30 November	n/a
		TCG Gemlik	G-class frigate	September – December	n/a
		FS Provence	Aquitaine-class frigate	September – December	n/a
		ITS Alpino	Bergamini-class frigate	September – December	n/a
		USS James E. Williams	Arleigh Burke-class destroyer	13 December – July 2023	13 December – July 2023

In 2021, SNMG2 consisted of:^[11]

  Previous flagship

  Current flagship

Year	Commander	Ship	Type	Part of task force	Flagship
2021[14]	Rear Admiral Stefano Russo	ESPS Cristóbal Colón	Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate	January – March	January – March
		Brandenburg	Brandenburg-class frigate	January – February	n/a
		HS Machitis	Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat	January – February	n/a
		HS Simeoforos Simitzopoulos	Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat	January – February	n/a
		HS Armatolos	Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat	January – February	n/a
		HS Plotarchis Maridakis	Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat	January – February	n/a
		TCG Türkeli	Tuzla-class patrol boat	January – March May – August	n/a
		Patiño	Replenishment oiler	January – February	n/a
		ITS Virginio Fasan	Carlo Bergamini-class frigate	February – March	n/a
		TCG Kemalreis	Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat	February – May	n/a
		HS Kountouriotis	Kortenaer-class frigate	February – March	n/a
		HS Navmachos	Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat	February – March	n/a
		HS Xenos	Fast attack craft	February – March	n/a
		HS Tolmi	Asheville-class gunboat	February – May	n/a
		FGS Werra	Replenishment oiler	February – August	n/a
		TCG Karaburn	Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat	March – May	n/a
		Regina Maria	Type 22 frigate	March – April	n/a
		Smeli	Frigate	March – April	n/a
		ESPS Méndez Núñez	Álvaro de Bazán-class frigate	April – August	April – August
		HS Kasos	Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat	May – August	n/a
		HS Aittitos	Osprey HSY-56A-class gunboat	May – August	n/a
		HS Degiannis	Fast attack craft	May – August	n/a
		FGS Lübeck	Bremen-class frigate	May – September	n/a
		TCG Kumkale	Tuzla-class patrol boat	June – August	n/a
		HMS Kent	Type 23 frigate	June – August	n/a
		ITS Virginio Fasan	Carlo Bergamini-class frigate	August – December	August – December
		ESPS Cantabria	Replenishment oiler	August – October	n/a
		TCG Gökçeada	Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate	September – December	n/a
		FGS Spessart	Rhön-class tanker	September – December	n/a
		ITS Carlo Margottini	Carlo Bergamini-class frigate	December – July 2022	December – July 2022

Organization

SNMG2 is a component of the NATO Response Force (NRF).^[15]

See also

• Standing NATO Maritime Group 1
• Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1
• Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2