Remontowa Shipbuilding laid the keel for the fourth Kormoran II type minehunter

On July 25. Remontowa Shipbuilding laid the keel for the fourth in a series of Kormoran II-type mine countermeasure vessels. The ship, which will be named ORP Jaskółka, will join the fleet of the 12th Minesweeper Squadron of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla, stationed in the Swinoujscie Naval Base.

The ceremony was attended by, among others, Cmdr. Piotr Skóra, Head of Maritime Technology at the Armament Agency, Cmdr. Jaroslaw Kuklinski, Deputy Commander of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla, Cmdr. Lt. Slawomir Gora, commander of the 12th Minesweeper Squadron, representatives of the Research and Development Marine Technology Centre headed by CEO Marcin Wisniewski, PGZ Naval Shipyard, Polish Register of Shipping headed by CEO Henryk Śniegocki, Remontowa Marine Design & Consulting office, presidents and employees of companies belonging to the Remontowa Holding group.

The next milestone for this project will be the launch, scheduled for mid-2024. The vessel’s delivery will take place in 2026.
According to the provisions in the contract, three ships will be built. The first steel cutting for the second minehunter will be in January next year. The same construction pathway for the third ship is scheduled for October 2024, and both ships will be delivered in 2027.

ORP Jaskółka is already the fourth MCMV of the Kormoran II type (displacement: up to 850 t, overall length 58.50 m, max. breadth 10.30 m) under construction at Remontowa Shipbuilding. The first prototype vessel ORP Kormoran, designed and built as research and development work, entered service in November 2017. Its operation allowed modifications to be made in the construction of the next serial mine destroyers.

Thanks to them, the followers – ORP Albatros and ORP Mewa – (delivered in 2022) as well as the next three contracted vessels will have optimal capabilities for operating in difficult hydrometeorological conditions. The fundamental and most significant changes introduced on the serial ships, concern artillery armament and underwater mine countermeasure systems.

Kormoran II-type minehunters are designed to search for, identify and combat sea mines and other objects and explosives remaining in the sea. This applies both to operations in the Polish economic zone and missions in tactical groups in the Baltic and North Sea (teams of NATO, EU or multinational coalition forces vessels).

The ship’s design, carried out by Remontowa Marine Design & Consulting office, provides it with a very low physical field signature and high manoeuvring performance. Like the prototype, the serial units will have an amagnetic steel hull.

Photos: Sławomir Lewandowski / PortalMorski.pl

Source: Remontowa Shipbuilding