The EUROMARFOR Operational Group Activates Under Spanish Command

This Monday, June 19, an operational group of the EUROMARFOR (European Maritime Force) will activate under Spanish command in Lisbon to participate in the Portuguese exercise CONTEX/PHIBEX 23. This is an advanced naval exercise that will take place in the Portuguese exercise areas of the Atlantic from June 19 to 30, directed by the naval commander of the Portuguese Navy (COMNAV), Admiral Nuno Chaves Ferreira, and will involve 12 ships (eight from the Portuguese Navy, two from the Spanish Navy, and two from the Italian Marina Militare), as well as Marine Infantry units from Spain, Portugal, and Italy, and aircraft from the Portuguese Air Force.

The EUROMARFOR is a non-permanent Multinational Maritime Force with naval and amphibious capabilities, of variable composition, created in 1995 by Spain, France, Italy, and Portugal, to carry out missions defined in the Petersberg Declaration such as: humanitarian aid missions, peacekeeping, crisis response operations, preventive deployments, maritime patrol, mine clearance, and peace enforcement operations.

The command of EUROMARFOR (COMEUROMARFOR) rotates every two years among the four participating countries, currently held by the Spanish Admiral of the Fleet (ALFLOT) until September 2023.

Frigate Captain Alfonso Moreno Cividanes, commander of the frigate “Santa María” (F-81), will exercise tactical command at sea of the EUROMARFOR Operational Group participating in the exercise, which will consist of the aforementioned frigate, the Portuguese Navy patrol vessel “Sines” (P-362), and the Italian Marina Militare frigate “Carlo Margottini” (F-592).

The frigate “Santa María” had already been activated as the command ship of an EUROMARFOR Operational Group to participate in the recently concluded FLOTEX-23 exercise, so it will command this multinational naval force for almost a full month.

Photo: Navy