The Belgian Navy frigate Louise-Marie set sail from the West Flemish port of Zeebrugge on Monday. The Louise-Marie is to take part in NATO's task force in the Baltic Sea. Later in the vessel’s tour of duty in the Baltic it will patrol close to Russian territorial waters. The mission is described as a “deterrent” and an “exercise on Russia’s border”.
The aim of the NATO task force is to guarantee stability in the Baltic and Scandinavia. In the first instance, the Louise-Marie will take part in NATO’s Baltic Sentry mission that focuses on protecting critical infrastructure on the seabed. This mission came about after communication cables between Finland and Estonia were damaged at the end of 2024.
At a later stage the Belgian Navy fregatte will then sail on towards an area close to Russian territorial waters where it will be part of NATO’s Joint Viking navel exercise. Joint Viking is both a joint exercise involving vessels from several NATO countries and designed to serve as a deterrent to Russia.
On board Between 130 and 140 crew members are aboard the Louise-Marie. Jan Gacas is on his first mission as the ship’s commanding officer.