Polish mine countermeasure vessels join NATO’s Freezing Winds 2025 in the northern Baltic Sea

The Polish Navy has completed its second participation in Freezing Winds 2025, one of NATO’s key northern maritime exercises hosted by Finland in the Gulf of Finland and the southern Gulf of Bothnia. This year’s edition brought together around 5,000 personnel, multiple surface units, air assets and joint support elements from across the Alliance.

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06 december 2025 | 14:12 | Source: Gazeta Morska | Prepared by: Kamil Kusier | Print

fot. Sebastian /13dTR / NATO

Poland deployed two ships from the 8th Coastal Defence Flotilla: the mine countermeasure vessel ORP Albatros and the minesweeper ORP Necko, the latter currently operating within NATO’s SNMCMG1 under the PKW Noteć deployment. Both units conducted mine hunting, route surveying, protection of maritime infrastructure and coordination drills with allied MCM forces in highly demanding conditions of the Finnish Archipelago Sea.

According to Lt. Cmdr. Michał Bober, Commanding Officer of ORP Albatros, navigating and operating among thousands of islands, narrow channels and shallow waters significantly strengthened the crew’s operational proficiency, particularly in the use of autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles.

Freezing Winds – once a national Finnish exercise – has rapidly evolved into a major multinational platform after Finland joined NATO. Poland first took part in 2023 under PKW Czernicki, with ORP Kontradmirał X. Czernicki, ORP Drużno and ORP Hańcza forming a core element of the exercise’s MCM component.

This year’s participation further underscores Poland’s long-term commitment to Baltic Sea security, the nation’s growing role within NATO’s mine countermeasure forces, and its ability to operate effectively in integrated Allied formations.