Nato minesweepers in Grand Harbour

Two Nato minesweepers, the Turkish TCG Edincik (M-260) and Italian Crotone 558 arrived in Malta this morning on a four-day visit. They form part of the Standing NATO Mine-Countermeasures Group 2. Such ships are equipped with remote operating vehicles and sophisticated sonar.primarily tasked with clearing harbours and shipping lanes of mines. Their secondary task is to collect information about marine environments. The group was supposed to be composed of three vessels but the Royal Navy's HMS Ledbury had to go to Gibraltar for repairs after a mechanical failure. The ships will not be open to the public but will conduct an exercise with the AFM.