UK To Transfer 2 Royal Navy Minehunters To the Ukrainian Navy
The United Kingdom are to lead a new Maritime coalition with Norway to deliver new ships and vehicles to bolster Ukraine’s ability to fight at sea. UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps commented on the deal between the two nations:
“This capability boost marks the beginning of a new dedicated effort by the UK, Norway and our allies to strengthen Ukraine’s maritime capabilities over the long term, enhancing their ability to operate in defending their sovereign waters and bolstering security in the Black Sea…As an island nation with a proud maritime history, the UK and Royal Navy are particularly well-placed to support this endeavour, which will form part of a series of new coalitions formed between allies to ensure an enduring military commitment in support of Ukraine.”
The Maritime Capability Coalition will look to provide to Ukraine with two Sandown Class mine countermeasure vessels (MCMVs), a class of Minehunter that was first used by the Royal Navy in 1989 which were made by Vosper Thronycroft. From the UK government’s statement it’s unclear if these are in addition to HMS Grimsby and HMS Shoreham, which were transferred to the Ukrainian Navy in July 2023 and are now called Chernihiv and Cherkasy, or if they are additional vessels.
The Royal Navy has been training crews on the ships as part of Operation Orbital a multinational effort led by the UK to train Ukrainian personnel. Over 52,000 men and women have been trained under the programme so far.
Questions have been raised over the delivery of the vessels into the Black Sea, with routes to Ukraine limited due to the ongoing conflict. Shapps further commented on the need for the transferring of ships to Ukraine:
“These minehunters will deliver vital capability to Ukraine which will help save lives at sea and open up vital export routes, which have been severely limited since Putin launched his illegal full-scale invasion.”
Given the extensive mining if the Black Sea and it’s vital importance to Ukraine’s economy as an avenue of trade the former Royal Navy minehunters will likely be valuable assets for the depleted Ukrainian Navy.