The Polish Navy held a commissioning ceremony for its third Kormoran II class minehunter ORP Mewa in a ceremony in Gdynia on February 13.
Mewa is the third unit to be built and navy officials expect three more to be built in the future to enable the service to enhance its capabilities in searching for and combating sea mines in the areas of the Baltic and the North Sea.
ORP Mewa (603) was built by Remontowa Shipbuilding, a member of PGZ Stocznia Wojenna, and the Research and Development Center Maritime Technology Centre.
The ship’s construction began at the end of 2019, and builders utilized knowledge gained from five years of operations with the prototype ORP Kormoran. The second ship, ORP Albatros, was commissioned in November 2022.
Kormoran II minehunters have hull made of non-magnetic steel, measuring 58.5 meters in length and 10.3 meters in width, with a displacement of 830 tons. In addition to minehunting equipment, the ships are armed with 35-mm cannons and feature a locally-developed SCOT-M combat management system.
The vessels will also be equipped with mine hunting semi-autonomous remotely operated vehicles (SAROV) from Sweden’s Saab.
All three ships are part of the 13th Minesweeper Squadron operating out of Gdynia.
