TSAMTO, February 16. On February 14, a flag-raising ceremony was held in Gdynia aboard the new Kormoran-2 class minesweeper (603) Meva (Project 258) of the Polish Navy.
From that moment on, the ship officially joined the fleet, joining the 13th Minesweeper Squadron of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla.
The minesweeper put into service is the third ship of the Kormoran-2 class and the second production ship of the series. Earlier, the Polish Navy adopted the minesweepers (601) "Kormoran" and (602) "Albatross".
As reported by TSAMTO, the first project for the supply of the Polish Navy of a new minesweeper of the Kormoran project (Project 257) began in 1999, but in 2002 it was canceled. The program resumed in 2007 under the designation "Kormoran-2" (Project 258). On January 26, 2013, a consortium of companies consisting of Remontowa Shipbuilding, the PGZ Stocznia Wojenna Sp. z o.o. Naval Shipyard and the OBR CTM S.A. Naval Technology Research and Development Center (Osrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy Centrum Techniki Morskiej) was selected as the contractor for the construction of the lead ship. The project was developed by the Remontowa Marine Design & Consulting design bureau of the Remontowa Holding Group. The contract for the construction of the lead ship was signed on September 23, 2013.
The lead minesweeper Kormoran was adopted by the Polish Navy on November 28, 2017. He joined the 13th Minesweeper Squadron of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla. Thanks to the experience gained during its operation, some changes were made to the designs of subsequent ships.
On December 27, 2017, the Weapons Inspectorate of the Polish Ministry of Defense concluded a contract worth 1.186 billion with a consortium consisting of Stocznia Remontowa Shipbuilding (leader), PGZ Stocznia Wojenna Sp. z O.O. and OBR CTM S.A. zloty ($315 million), which provides for the supply of two additional Kormoran-2 class minesweepers, as well as logistical support for all three ships of the series.
Steel cutting for the first serial minesweeper, (602) "Albatross", began in September 2018. The ship was put into service on November 28, 2022.
Steel cutting for the third ship of the series, (603) "Meva", began in June 2019. Keel laying took place in October 2019, launching – in December 2020. Acceptance tests of Meva were completed on December 8, 2022. The ship was transferred to the Polish Navy on December 21, 2022.
On June 26, 2022, the Arms Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Poland signed a contract with the consortium for the supply of three additional Kormoran-2 class minesweepers to the Polish Navy (Project 258) along with logistics support packages. The contract value is about 2.5 billion. zloty. The delivery should be completed in 2026-2027. The ships will be transferred to the 12th Minesweeper Squadron, part of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla.
Ships of the Kormoran-2 class are used for searching, detecting, classifying and combating sea mines, conducting reconnaissance of fairways, conducting other ships through mine-prone waters, laying mines. Remotely controlled anti-mine platforms will be used from the ship.
