Minehunter HMS Cattistock Leaves For Baltic Assignment

HMS Cattistock alongside Hurworth, before departing Faslane (Picture: Royal Navy).

Minehunter HMS Cattistock has departed on a seven-week NATO assignment around the ports and inlets of the eastern Baltic.

The Portsmouth-based veteran Hunt-class ship departed Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde after completing a month of pre-deployment training.

She will link up with Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1, the NATO force dedicated to keeping the waters of northern Europe free of mines and historic ordnance.

Twelve vessels, including Danish, German, Latvian, Norwegian and Belgian ships, are assigned to the Danish-led force.

Recently they have been dealing with unexploded wartime mines and bombs in the areas separating Germany and Denmark, where construction on the world’s longest road tunnel is due to begin from next year.

The 38-year-old Cattistock is the Royal Navy's second-oldest ship but is equipped with the latest minehunting systems.

Before leaving for the Baltic region, the ship had to complete a phase of operational sea training off the west coast of Scotland.

Its main task on the NATO assignment is going to be dealing with the debris of past conflicts that still lies on the seabed of the Baltic.

Cattistock is due back in Portsmouth in late November.