Two Alkmaar-class minesweepers have been decommissioned by the Royal Netherlands Navy, to be transferred to Ukraine soon.

This was reported by the monarchy’s Ministry of Defense.

A few days ago, on November 25, the mine countermeasure ship Makkum (M857) was removed from the Dutch fleet. Earlier, in March, the same procedure was carried out with its sister ship Vlaardingen (M863).

Both ships have served for almost 40 years, defusing explosive objects in the deep sea and participating in numerous international exercises. At the same time, they are in excellent condition: the result of gentle operation, regular maintenance and repairs.

The minesweepers are expected to be handed over to the Ukrainian Navy in 2025, but there are no exact dates yet. Training of Ukrainian crews began in the second half of 2023. Full maintenance of these ships is also planned.

Let us recall that the transfer of the ships was announced in Odessa on March 14, 2023, by the then Minister of Defense of the Netherlands, Kajsa Ollongren. According to her, the minesweepers will be able to arrive in Ukraine only after the end of the war – when Turkey opens the Black Sea straits.

“We are starting to train Ukrainian crews for the Alkmaar-class minesweepers. These ships will be ready for delivery by 2025. We will also provide other capabilities, such as bridges, crossings and radar systems. We continue our strong support for Ukraine,” the minister emphasized in Odessa.

In the 1980s and 1990s, France, Belgium and the Netherlands began designing a new type of minehunter, calling the joint project Tripartite. Each country built ships with its own characteristics, so in France they are known as the Éridan class, in Belgium as the Aster, and in the Netherlands as the Alkmaar.

There are almost no external differences between them; the difference lies in displacement, armament, radio equipment, and a set of means for searching for mines.

The Dutch Alkmaars have a much larger displacement than the others – about 660 tons, while the French have up to 600 tons, and the Belgians have about 570 tons.

The ships are 52 meters long, nine meters wide, and have a draft of 3.8 meters. The ship can accelerate to 15 knots on a diesel engine with a power of about 2,000 horsepower. There are two 180 kW electric motors for low-speed mine hunting.

The small arms consist of three 12.7 mm machine guns, and the search for mines is carried out by the remotely controlled underwater vehicle Double Eagle Mk III Mod 1. The old electronics were modernized in the early 2000s – now it consists of the Atlas Elektronik INCMS combat data system, the Thales 2022 Mk III hull sonar, and the Atlas Seafox mine identification and disposal system.

It is interesting that Odessans have already had the opportunity to get acquainted with ships of this class. The French minesweeper FS  Capricorne M653 (Capricorn) visited our port at the end of March 2019.

The two Alkmaars are to join the Ukrainian Navy’s emerging mine countermeasures division, which will consist of at least five ships: in addition to the Dutch ships, two British-built Sandown-class minesweepers, Chernigov and Cherkasy (already sailing under the Ukrainian flag, temporarily based in Scotland), as well as the Belgian Narcis (M923).  

Archival photos by Sergei Smolentsev

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