From November 27th to December 6th, the Spanish Navy participated in NATO’s NCAGS exercise ‘DYNAMIC MASTER’ (Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping). To this end, Cartagena hosted the Maritime Component Command at the Maritime Action Headquarters, in addition to a Deployable NCAGS Element (DNE) in Algeciras. There were also 4 other DNEs located in Athens, Hamburg, Marmaris and Toulon.
The actual exercise took place in the Strait of Gibraltar area, but recreating a fictitious scenario in the Baltic Sea. The purpose of the exercise was to test the procedures and current structure of the NCAGS and AWNIS (Allied Worldwide Navigational Information System), including the integration of international personnel within the organization.
The NCAGS interacted with the local maritime and port authorities, and with real shipping in the theatre of operations around the Strait of Gibraltar.
Both the Spanish Navy and NATO demonstrated, once more, their support to merchant shipping providing valuable information as to how to perform in case of real emergencies. The information exchange was fundamental for the success of the implemented procedures.