Overview
- The Netherlands formally transferred the Alkmaar-class minehunter Zr. Ms. Makkum to the Ukrainian Navy, a move announced Monday, June 15, 2026, that raises Ukraine’s count of Western-built mine countermeasure vessels to five.
- Ukrainian Navy Commander Vice Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa raised the Ukrainian ensign at a ceremony attended by senior naval officers from the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Lithuania, and Latvia, and the ship was commissioned into service as Henichesk.
- The Dutch Alkmaar variants have been modernized with the Atlas Elektronik INCMS combat data system, Thales Mk III hull-mounted sonar, and Seafox and Double Eagle remotely operated vehicles that let crews detect and dispose of mines without sending divers into the water.
- All five minehunters will be temporarily based in the United Kingdom to allow continued training and maintenance, and Henichesk is scheduled to take part in Exercise Sea Breeze in 2027 while Montreux Convention restrictions limit immediate passage into the Black Sea.
- The transfer responds to a major mine threat in Ukrainian waters — the United Nations estimated about 13,500 square kilometers may be contaminated by the end of 2025 — and the renaming restores the identity of a vessel lost in 2022 while honoring the sailors affected by that loss.