In June 2026, the Netherlands will transfer an Alkmaar-class (Tripartite) mine sweeper to Ukraine, which will be named “Henichesk.”
This was announced on April 16 by President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to the Netherlands.
The vessel in question is the Makkum, on board which Ukrainian sailors are currently undergoing training.
At present, the crew is learning to operate various types of underwater drones designed to search for, identify, and neutralize sea mines.
The Dutch side is responsible for the full training cycle of the crew. A significant portion of the Ukrainian sailors have real combat experience, including naval combat experience.
The ship will be named “Henichesk” in honor of the eponymous harbor minesweeper (Project 1258), which Ukraine lost while it was performing a combat mission in June 2022 near the Kinburn Spit.
The ship is scheduled to participate in the Sea Breeze international exercises in 2027.
Ukraine received two similar mine countermeasure vessels from Belgium and the Netherlands in June 2025. They inherited the names of their predecessors — the Project 1265 base minesweepers “Mariupol” and “Melitopol”.
Alkmaar-class minehunters (Tripartite)
The Alkmaar is a class of mine countermeasure vessels developed for Belgium, France, and the Netherlands based on the French Circé-class ships. A total of 35 ships were built for the three navies in the 1980s and 1990s.
The three countries built their own hulls, but each was responsible for specific ship components: France provided mine countermeasure systems and electronic systems, the Netherlands handled the propulsion systems, and Belgium supplied the power generation systems.
In the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Alkmaar-class ships initially had a design similar to the Belgian and French versions, with a standard displacement of 520 tons, but this later increased to 571 tons and then to 630 tons.
The planned 20-mm guns were removed from the Dutch ships, leaving only three 12.7-mm machine guns. The ship’s crew consists of 4 officers, 15 non-commissioned officers, and 17 enlisted personnel. The ships have undergone modernization.
