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24 Volume 73 Number 1
15 February 2021
Canada last commanded a Standing NATO Mari-
ing NATO Maritime Group One time Group from June to December 2019, when
“I would like to congratulate Commodore Peats Commodore Josée Kurtz commanded SNMG2.
on his appointment as Commander of SNMG1. I Since 2014, the Canadian Armed Forces have
have no doubt he will be a leading example of deployed Royal Canadian Navy frigates on a per-
the professionalism and commitment of our Ca- sistent rotational basis to be employed for exer-
nadian Armed Forces to NATO’s assurance and cises and operational tasks in the NATO Maritime
deterrence mission in Europe under Operation Command's areas of responsibility.
REASSURANCE. His appointment speaks to the
recognized excellence of our CAF leaders and http://www.canadiandefencereview.com/news?
Canada’s important contribution to NATO, as we news/3060
have contributed Royal Canadian Navy ships on
a regular basis since 2014 to Standing NATO
Maritime Groups One and Two, as well as com- Vessel Tracking Applications
manding both groups on several occasions. Bra- Top 8 Ship Tracking Websites To Find Your
vo Zulu!” Ship Accurately
Lieutenant-General Christopher Coates, Com- he rapid advancement of technology has sig-
mander Canadian Joint Operations Command
T nificantly improved the methods of monitor-
Standing NATO Maritime Group One ing and tracking the ships in the recent past. The
fast-developing satellite services have enabled the
Standing NATO Maritime Group One is a multi-
national deterrent force that carries out a robust ship tracking across the globe easier now and thus
programme of operational deployments as well ensuring the safety of vessels from various
as complex training exercises and events with threats.
national navies to build and maintain the highest With the help of satellite-based vessel monitoring
levels of readiness, interoperability and war systems (VMS), different types of vessels have
fighting capabilities. been monitoring efficiently by marine agencies
and vessel owners for a long period. The automat-
NATO Standing Naval Forces presence and activ-
ities promote and preserve unfettered access to ic identification system (AIS) helps track bigger
the global ocean commons and help maintain vessels crossing waters across the world by offer-
freedom of the seas and freedom of navigation ing real-time information about the vessels.
throughout all international waters which is cen- Currently, several websites provide ship tracking
tral to the Alliance’s security and economic pros- using the automatic identification system to dis-
perity. play the real-time location of the ships.
Canada is committed to NATO’s principle of col- With the help of transponders equipped on the
lective defence, which is at the heart of the Alli- vessels, the satellites will collect AIS signals from
ance’s founding treaty. The CAF is proud to lead the vessels to provide its position, route, speed
or otherwise make substantive and enduring and ship’s type, among others through various
contributions to the cooperative defence activi- online platforms. Moreover, with the introduction
ties of NATO in the air, on land, and at sea. of Google Earth has revolutionized the ship track-
Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Halifax is ing process, allowing access to each and every
currently deployed with Standing NATO Maritime detail of almost all ships within seconds.
Group One as part of Operation REASSURANCE, However, since there are various online services
Canada’s contribution to NATO regional assur- to provide vessel tracking information, the pur-
ance and deterrence measures. pose of the content provided varies. It is im-
HMCS Halifax departed its namesake homeport portant to note that ship tracking done through
of Halifax, Nova Scotia on January 1, 2021, and these online platforms is often meant for educa-
replaced HMCS Toronto, which deployed with tional purpose. Though many of these services are
SNMG1 from July to December 2020. HMCS Hal- also used for tracking different types of cargo
ifax is now the flagship for the SNMG1 command ships such as container ship.
team and headquarters staff throughout the re- Though most of these service providers promise a
mainder of its deployment. “real-time” location of the ships, the data dis-
played is always behind by a few minutes or even
http://www.noabc.com/
