Minesweepers that have served for more than twenty years in the British Navy will be transferred to the Ukrainian Navy next year. Yesterday, on August 5, the press service of the Royal Navy announced the decommissioning of the ships HMS Ramsey and HMS Blyth.
"Both Sandown-class mine protection ships served for 21 years and 175,000 miles for Ramsey, 185,000 miles for 20 years for Blyth, supporting operations in the Middle East, off the coast of Great Britain and performing NATO duties in the waters of Northern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea," the press service of the British Navy reported.
Ship decommissioning ceremony:
After decommissioning, both ships will undergo maintenance and will be transferred to the Ukrainian Navy.
Between 1988 and 2001, the Vosper Thornycroft shipyard built 15 Sandow-type ships (12 for the British Navy and 3 for the Saudi Arabian Navy). Later, the British sold three minesweepers to the Estonian Navy. These ships have fiberglass hulls with a length of more than 50 m, the displacement of each of them is about 600 tons. The main purpose of the ships is to search for and destroy mines using remotely controlled vehicles.
