NORTHWOOD, United Kingdom (July 8, 2019) – The Rt Hon. Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom visited NATO Maritime Headquarters in Northwood today for a short briefing and discussion on maritime security in the region and how the Royal Navy both benefits from and contributes to the NATO maritime picture.

 The visit was part of a larger tour of the major commands on Northwood Headquarters which also includes the Headquarters for UK Joint Forces Command, UK Permanent Joint Headquarters and the Commander Operations for the Royal Navy.

"It was an honour to host Prime Minister May and discuss the maritime security situation from a NATO standpoint,” said Vice Admiral Keith Blount, Commander of NATO Maritime Command. "Our multi-national staff works together around-the-clock to ensure we are promoting peace and security and providing real benefit back to nations in return for providing ships, aircraft and submarines.”

Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan is currently deployed to the Black Sea under the NATO flag as part of Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) conducting routine patrols in the Black Sea with ships from the Royal Canadian Navy, Romanian Navy and Turkish Navy also in the group. The Group is participating in US-Ukraine exercise Sea Breeze and Bulgarian exercise Breeze to build interoperability with Allies and NATO Partner nation navies. The Group’s collected information is compiled with additional sources to maintain maritime situational awareness which is shared across the Alliance from the NATO Maritime Command Operations Centre.

 NATO Maritime Command leads four standing naval ship groups as well as NATO’s maritime security operation, Sea Guardian, in the Mediterranean Sea. The ships that make up these groups are provided by Allied nations. Working together as a NATO group, using standardized NATO procedures enhances the crew’s ability to work together with ships from other Allied nations. This interoperability bolsters Allied capability and flexibility and greatly enhances the ability of NATO maritime forces to deter potential adversaries.