The Ukrainian Navy is ready to join the demining of the Strait of Hormuz with two ships from the mine countermeasures division currently based in Portsmouth, UK.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, told Militarnyi in a comment.
According to him, the Navy’s position is that it is fully prepared to provide the necessary assistance and directly participate in the demining of the strait if Ukraine receives a corresponding invitation.
“We are talking about two ships from our mine countermeasures division that are currently in the UK. Two of the five ships already have trained crews, the necessary equipment, and have passed NATO interoperability assessments,” the spokesperson noted.
If involved in the mission, the Ukrainian side will comply with all protocol requirements, and organizational matters will depend on the country or coalition leading the operation to clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines.
“Regarding the readiness of the crews of the minesweepers, we can only confirm from our perspective that they have undergone the necessary professional training and have experience…,” Pletenchuk clarified.
Reports emerged yesterday regarding the possibility of deploying Ukrainian mine countermeasure vessels, which are temporarily based in the United Kingdom, to the mission to restore navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
This operation is planned to take place only after the end of hostilities between the United States and Iran.
Currently, the Ukrainian Navy’s surface ship group in the UK consists of four mine countermeasure vessels of two different types: two British Sandown-class ships—the Chernihiv and Cherkasy—and two Alkmaar (Tripartite)-class ships—the Mariupol and Melitopol.
The Netherlands will transfer another Alkmaar-class ship to Ukraine in June 2026; it will be named Henichesk.
Why the ships are in Britain
The passage of Ukrainian minehunters to the Black Sea is currently impossible due to Turkey’s invocation of the Montreux Convention. According to Article 19 of the document, during wartime, Ankara may close the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits to military vessels of the warring parties.
The exception applies only to ships returning to their home ports. However, since these minesweepers were not based in Ukrainian ports prior to the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, they cannot exercise this right. Therefore, they are forced to remain at their base in the United Kingdom.
