The Polish Navy, together with Germany, and Sweden will oversee military exercises and maritime operations in the Baltic Sea in the next four years as informed by the spokesperson for naval command.

The CTF Baltic was established on October 1st as a commanding structure to lead NATO’s naval units operating in the Baltic Sea region (including the North Sea into the Baltic Sea and up to the Gulf of Bothnia). The staff headquarters will be situated in the German port city of Rostock. The headquarters will welcome staff from other NATO countries.

The spokesman of the Polish Maritime Operations Centre – Maritime Component Command (COM-DFK) Czesław Cichy, said that Poland delegated personnel from the COM-DFK in Gdynia and from the General Command of the Polish armed forces to serve in the newly established CFT Baltic.

He added that the Polish Navy had already commenced its duties in Rostock in early October and that Polish staff would work together with Swedish and German navies to lead allied exercises and naval operations in the Baltic Sea throughout the next four years.

During this timeframe, a Polish Maritime Forces Staff will be established in Poland, expected to assume the allied command by the end of 2028.

The new NATO structure will secure the freedom of navigation of 2,000 to 3,000 vessels that navigate the Baltic Sea daily. The aim is to secure the supply chains, namely nearly 150 million tonnes of cargo each year, including vital raw materials such as crude oil and liquefied gas.

As informed by Mr Cichy the exercises are aimed at preparing readiness for „protection of the trade routes, sustaining the dominant position at sea and preventing a naval blockade of the Baltic Sea, which would mean cutting off sources of supplies and allied support.”

Source: PAP

Photo: @MarWojRP/X

Tomasz Modrzejewski