On July 2, 2023, on the Day of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, an official ceremony of raising Ukrainian naval flags was held in Glasgow (Great Britain) on two Sandown-type minesweepers transferred to Ukraine from the British Navy, which received the Ukrainian names M 310 "Chernigiv" (former British M 108 Grimsby) and M 311 "Cherkasi" (former British M 112 Shoreham). Both ships thus officially became part of the Ukrainian Navy.
The M 311 Cherkasi minesweeper, which became part of the Ukrainian Navy, is a former British M 112 Shoreham of the Sandown type. Behind him is the second of the same type transferred to Ukraine minesweeper M 310 "Chernigiv" - the former British M 108 Grimsby. Glasgow, 02.07.2023 (c) TV and Radio Studio of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine "Breeze"
Recall that the transfer to the Ukrainian Navy of two Sandown-type minesweepers from the British Navy was one of the points proclaimed with British assistance and British funding even before the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, the program for the Development of the naval potential of Ukraine (Ukrainian Naval Capabilities Enhancement Program - UNCEP), adopted in accordance with the In October 2020, the Ministers of Defense of Ukraine and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum on strengthening cooperation between Ukraine and the United Kingdom in the military and military-technical spheres. In particular, the memorandum reflected the provision on attracting financing in the interests of the naval forces of Ukraine by the British Export Credit Agency (meaning Export Credits Guarantee Department - ECGD) in the form of a loan in the amount of 1.25 billion pounds sterling for a period of 10 years.
The UNCEP program was put into effect as a result of the signing on June 21, 2021 in Odessa on board the British destroyer D 36 Defender of a tripartite memorandum of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the British Government and the British group Babcock International as the main contractor regarding British assistance in the development of the Ukrainian Navy. Preparations for the transfer of two Sandown-type minesweepers to Ukraine were started in the summer of 2021.
Although it was initially assumed that two minesweepers M 110 Ramsey and M 111 Blyth, withdrawn from the British fleet in August 2021, would be transferred to Ukraine, with major repairs carried out before their transfer at the Rosyth Dockyard of the Babcock group in Rosyth, however, as can be judged, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the plan was changed in favor of the transfer of the M 108 Grimsby and M 112 Shoreham minesweepers to Ukraine directly from the British Fleet, as being in the best technical condition and not requiring major repairs. Thus, Ukraine's receipt of minesweepers was accelerated. The minesweepers M 110 Ramsey and M 111 Blyth, according to recent reports, are planned to be sold to Romania.
Already in May 2022, the minesweepers M 108 Grimsby and M 112 Shoreham were transferred to Rosite and started to be transferred to Ukraine, since the summer of 2022, training of Ukrainian crews was started on them, and in September 2022, Ukrainian names and side numbers M 310 "Chernigiv" and M 311 "Cherkasi" were applied to their sides.". The formal withdrawal of both ships from the British Navy has not been officially announced and was carried out, according to some sources, in early September, and according to others - in October 2022.
Already in January 2023, the minesweepers "Chernigiv" and "Cherkasi" with Ukrainian crews and Ukrainian flags began going out for combat training from Rosayt, but the formal ceremonies of raising Ukrainian flags on them took place only on July 2. No further plans of action of these ships are reported, but apparently they will remain in the UK until the end of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
In total, the British Navy from 1988 to 2001 received 12 Sandown-type minesweepers with solid composite hulls built at the Vosper Thornycroft company (since 2002 - VT Group, acquired by Babcock Group in 2010) in Woolston (Southampton, this shipyard was closed in 2004). Three more Sandown-type minesweepers were built there in 1991-1993 for the Saudi Arabian Navy.
To date, three Sandown-type minesweepers were sold to Estonia from the British Navy in 2006 (M 101 Sandown, M 102 Inverness and M 105 Bridport), the M 103 Cromer minesweeper has been used as a training station at Dartmouth since 2001, and M 104 Walney was decommissioned in 2010. So now, after the withdrawal of four more minesweepers in 2021-2022 (M 108 Grimsby, M 110 Ramsey, M 111 Blyth and M 112 Shoreham), only three Sandown-type ships (M 106 Penzance, M 107 Pembroke and M 108 Bangor) remain in the British Navy. Also, six Hunt-type minesweepers remain in the British fleet.
The Sandown-type minesweepers have a total displacement of 600 tons and a length of 52.5 m. The ships are equipped with relatively modern mine-fighting equipment, including the Type 2093 mine-finding gas produced by Thales and the Atlas Elektronik SeaFox anti-mine underwater vehicles introduced into the mine-fighting armament of these minesweepers in the late 2000s.
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