Officer of Maltese descent takes command of Nato ships

Commander Adrian Cassar, RN, whose father Francis represented Malta as High Commissioner in Britain in the mid-1980s, will take the command of NATO`s minehunting squadron on Friday, the Royal Navy said.

The RN said the importance of the event will be emphasised by the presence at the ceremony of Britain`s Defence Procurement Minister, Lord Bach, and Admiral Sir Alan West Commander-in-Chief Fleet and First Sea Lord designate, who will be present in his NATO role as Commander Allied Naval Forces North.

The minehunting group - seven ships from five countries - make up the Alliance`s Mine Countermeasures Force Northern Europe which arrived in Portsmouth on Monday.

Commander Cassar takes over from a Belgian, Commander John Saussez.

It will be the 26th change of command since the force`s formation as Standing Naval Force Channel in May, 1973.

Adrian Cassar will lead the force from his command ship, HMS Dumbarton Castle, designed as an offshore patrol vessel. The other ships are HMS Ledbury, a Royal Navy Hunt-class minehunter, the Belgian ships Godetia and Bellis, the German warship Fulda, the Netherlands ship Scheveningen, and the Norwegian Maaloy.

At a ceremony during which flags and 300 naval personnel of all five nations will be on parade, Admiral West will transfer command of MCMFORNORTH to Commander Cassar.