Key facts
- Ukraine's Navy received an Alkmaar-class mine countermeasures vessel from the Netherlands.
- The vessel has been named Henichesk.
- This transfer brings Ukraine's mine countermeasures fleet to five ships.
- The Alkmaar-class vessels are designed for coastal minehunting and route clearance operations.
- Ukraine's waters are estimated to be contaminated with approximately 13,500 square kilometers of mines.
The Ukrainian Navy has received an Alkmaar-class mine countermeasures vessel from the Netherlands, a move announced by Navy Commander Oleksii Neizhpapa on June 15, 2026. This addition brings the Ukrainian Navy's fleet of mine countermeasures vessels to five. Previously, Ukraine had received Sandown-class ships Cherkasy and Chernihiv from the United Kingdom, and Alkmaar-class vessels Melitopol and Mariupol from Belgium and the Netherlands. The newly transferred vessel has been named Henichesk, in honor of the Ukrainian city in Kherson Oblast under Russian occupation and a Ukrainian roadstead minesweeper lost in 2022. An official ceremony marked the raising of the Ukrainian Navy flag aboard the vessel, attended by various international naval officials, including Royal Netherlands Navy Vice Admiral Harold Liebregts and Belgian Navy Commander Tanguy Botman. Neizhpapa expressed gratitude to the Dutch crew for maintaining the ship and confidence in its continued effective service. President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously stated in April that the Netherlands would fully train the Ukrainian crew of an Alkmaar-class mine countermeasures vessel and transfer it in June. The Alkmaar-class is a series of mine countermeasures vessels developed by Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, constructed with non-magnetic materials for detecting and neutralizing naval mines, and has been a part of European naval mine warfare capabilities since the 1980s. According to United Nations estimates, approximately 13,500 square kilometers of Ukraine's waters may be contaminated with mines as a result of the ongoing war.