Netherlands strengthens Ukraine's Navy with transfer of Alkmaar minehunter
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The Ukrainian Navy has received an Alkmaar-class mine countermeasures vessel from the Netherlands under the Maritime Capabilities Coalition, Navy Commander Oleksii Neizhpapa announced on June 15.
The transfer brings the Ukrainian Navy's fleet of mine countermeasures vessels to five. Ukraine had previously received the Sandown-class ships Cherkasy and Chernihiv from the United Kingdom, as well as the Alkmaar-class vessels Melitopol and Mariupol from Belgium and the Netherlands.
The newly-transferred vessel has been named Henichesk after the Ukrainian city in Kherson Oblast that has been under Russian occupation since 2022, as well as in honor of a Ukrainian roadstead minesweeper that was lost while covering a special operations unit during a mission in 2022.
At the official ceremony, Neizhpapa raised the Ukrainian Navy flag aboard the new mine countermeasures vessel in the presence of Royal Netherlands Navy Vice Admiral Harold Liebregts, Belgian Navy Commander Tanguy Botman, Romanian Navy Vice Admiral Mihai Panait, Lithuanian Navy Captain Tadas Jablonskis, and Latvian Naval Forces Flotilla Admiral Maris Polencs.
"I thank the Dutch crew for their service, for taking care of the ship, and for maintaining it in excellent condition," Neizhpapa said.
"I am confident that, together with its Ukrainian crew, the vessel will continue to fulfill its missions effectively and contribute to security in the Black Sea and, if necessary, beyond," the commander added.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 16 following a meeting with Ukrainian Navy personnel in the Netherlands — visited together with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten — that the Netherlands would fully train the Ukrainian crew of the Alkmaar-class mine countermeasures vessel Zr. Ms. Makkum and transfer it to Ukraine in June.
The Alkmaar-class is a series of mine countermeasures vessels developed jointly by Belgium, the Netherlands, and France to detect and neutralize naval mines. Built with non-magnetic materials to reduce the risk of triggering mines, these ships are designed for coastal minehunting and route clearance operations. They have been a key part of European naval mine warfare capabilities since the 1980s.
According to the United Nations, as of the end of 2025, around 13,500 square kilometers (5,210 square miles) of Ukraine's waters, including the Dnipro River, lakes, and the Black Sea coastline, may be contaminated with mines as a result of Russia’s full-scale war.
