More Details

More Details

The 2-day conference brought together fleet commanders from the Black Sea, NATO, and other expert mine countermeasure (MCM)-capable nations to enhance mutual understanding and maritime collaboration.

The conference will also be the final serial in Sea Breeze 2025, a multinational maritime exercise incorporating 18 NATO Allies, partners, and Black Sea nations across three iterations. The exercise, purpose built to enhance interoperability and capability among participating forces in the Black Sea region, emphasized training and collaboration in Mine Countermeasure (MCM) operations and capabilities, in response to the increased presence of sea-mines in the Black Sea.

“The Black Sea countries lead in multinational MCM integration, seamlessly incorporating national assets into NATO architecture, and we are all advancing unmanned systems, shaping the future of maritime technology,” said U.S. Navy Vice Adm. J.T. Anderson, commander of U.S. 6^th Fleet. “This conference brings all of that capability and expertise together in one room. This is an opportunity for our fleets and forces to collaborate and build preeminent military capabilities. By strengthening these elements, we build a more effective coalition.”

During the conference, fleet commanders will discuss a wide range of topics, including the different ways maritime nations view the Black Sea; the growth and integration of MCM Black Sea Task Group, formed during the 2023 Fleet Commander’s Conference; information sharing and command-and-control innovations; and the use of unmanned capabilities in MCM operations. The conference will cap with a joint discussion on future collaboration opportunities between the participating nations.

“We face a demanding security environment, but we are not facing it alone. Together we have the expertise, the experience, and the determination to ensure security and stability in the maritime domain,” said Romanian Navy Vice Admiral Mihai Panait, Chief of the Romanian Naval Forces. “The Black Sea maybe the hottest in terms of naval security, but it is also where our collective resolve and unity are strongest.”

The conference will also establish best practices for demining the Black Sea, with participating nations focusing on the optimizing support for MCM operations, enhancing Maritime Domain Awareness, coordinating national vessels into cohesive international units, and ensuring mine clearance capabilities while safeguarding MCM vessels.

Participating nations in Sea Breeze 25-3 include Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Türkiye, Ukraine, U.K., and U.S.

Since 1997, Exercise Sea Breeze has brought together Black Sea nations, NATO Allies and partners together to train and operate with NATO members in the pursuit of building increased capabilities. Exercise Sea Breeze 2025 is an annual multinational maritime exercise, involving sea, land, and air components co-hosted by the United States and Ukraine to enhance interoperability and capability among participating forces.

Commander, U.S. 6^th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allies, international partners, and other U.S. government departments and agencies to advance U.S. national interests, security, and stability in Europe and Africa.