TALLINN, Sep 12, BNS - Celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Baltic joint naval squadron BALTRON in Riga today will be attended by the chief of the Estonian Navy, Capt. Igor Schvede, and the diver and support ship Tasuja.
Estonia also will be represented by the previous commander of BALTRON, Lt. Cmdr. Andrei Leit, and Capt. (Ret.) Roland Leit, who was commander of the Estonian Navy at the time BALTRON was in preparation, a spokesman for the naval staff said.
"BALTRON significantly speeded up Estonia's entry into NATO. It also has markedly improved the training of seamen and raised their level," chief of staff Lt. Cmdr. Ivo Vark said.
The joint squadron also helps keep Baltic waters safer for ship traffic, he added.
BALTRON was established as an international squadron in 1998. The main task of the unit is to jointly avert the threat posed by naval mines and reduce damage to the environment in territorial waters and economic zones of the Baltic states, making navigation safer.
The squadron consists of a joint Baltic staff and vessels appointed by the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian naval forces. Each country contributes one or two mine countermeasures ships for a certain period of time. In addition, one vessel performs the duties of staff and support ship.
Since August the Latvian minehunter LVNS Talivaldis, Lithuanian minehunter LNS Suduvis and Estonian diver and support ship EML Tasuja serve in BALTRON.
Cmdr. Eugenijus Valikovas of Lithuania is the present commander of the unit.
Three Estonian officers have served as commanders of BALTRON: Schvede in 2001-2002, Lt. Cmdr. Sten Sepper in 2004-2005 and Andrei Leit in 2007-2008.
Tallinn newsroom, +372 610 8814, sise@bns.ee
