ARRC JOURNAL
MARITIME SECURITY
IN THE BALTICS
Cdr John Payne (GBR-N)
One year ago I was serving as the Commander of Sea Training, responsible for the
coaching and mentoring of UK and NATO warships during their certification for national,
EU and NATO operational tasking worldwide. Due to my involvement in the military
maritime community I thought it opportune to highlight the significance of the maritime
environment in the Baltic region.
Those frigates and destroyers under my
control a year ago included four Rota,
Spain-based Arleigh Burke-class guided
missile destroyers, the most recent of
which was the USS Donald Cook (DDG-
75). Shortly after completion of training
in April 2016, whilst supporting NATO
operations in the Baltic, the Donald Cook
was ‘buzzed’ by a Russian Su-24 aircraft
flying simulated attack profiles down to
100 feet off her starboard quarter.
Baltic Pass
DC Fencer
Three months later at the Warsaw
Summit in July 2016, NATO’s enhanced
Forward Presence (eFP) in the Baltic
region was established. Since then,
NATO Maritime Command (MARCOM)
has been directed by the Supreme Allied
Commander Europe (SACEUR) to scope
how the eFP can be further developed
to include a maritime dimension. The
aim is to contribute to deterrence, linked
with joint eFP activity and be prepared
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ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS
to defend against short-notice limited
Russian conventional aggression from
the Baltic Sea. miles and bordered by nine countries,
at any time there are some 2,500 ships
underway in the Baltic Sea.
The complex nature of the region’s
congested and shallow waters and
high-volume of maritime transportation
makes enhanced maritime situational
awareness a complex challenge for
NATO. The Danish Straits are one of the
world’s eight major oil transit choke
points and more energy passes through
this chokepoint than the Suez Canal;
on average 3.3 million barrels of
hydrocarbon products each day. More
than 125,000 ships transit the straits
each year with more traffic exiting via the
Kiel Canal. The volume of traffic in the
region has doubled in the last 20 years
and is expected to double again during
the next decade. It is a main artery
of economic activity for almost every
country in the region, including Russia,
with an estimated 40 percent of its
The Baltic Sea
Since Napoleonic times the Baltic Sea
has been a critical area of competition.
The unique environmental character of
the constrained Baltic basin supports
dense patterns of shipping and fishing
activity. With an area of 160,000 square