On Friday, 17 April, a festive ceremony was held at Vanasadam to celebrate the concluding of the major procurement of three minehunters. These Sandown class vessels are Estonia’s second largest procurement since NATO accession.
“I am extremely happy that this major procurement has been successfully concluded with the vessels Admiral Cowan, Ugandi and Sakala. To ensure our security we are ready to make contributions to significant areas, and mine defence is surely one such area,” said Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence Riho Terras at the reception ceremony.
He thanked the workers of the Babcock shipyard and all officers and officials of the UK Ministry of Defence, who participated in the procurement process.
Rear Admiral Christopher Snow, who led the delegation of the British Royal Navy and the Ministry of Defence, added: “The vessels procured by the Estonian Navy would make any country proud, and I am proud that Estonia chose the United Kingdom as its partner for this major procurement. This is further proof of Estonia’s and the United Kingdom’s successful cooperation in the defence sector.”
Additionally during the ceremony, the Commander of the Estonian Navy, Navy Captain Schvede and Rear Admiral Snow, signed a cooperation agreement between Estonia and the United Kingdom, which covers the exchange of mine defence related information and the tightening of mutual cooperation.
The three minehunters bought from the United Kingdom form one of the largest defence related procurements for Estonia for the current decade and help to significantly improve the capabilities of the Estonian Navy in the defence of the country.
The vessels are being used to clear the waters in Estonia’s exclusive economic zone of naval mines from the First and Second World War and of other explosives. In addition, the vessels take part in NATO joint exercises and operations. The EML Admiral Cowan sailed last year as part of the NATO response forces in the Mediterranean, being the first vessel of the Estonian Navy to operate this far in the south.
The contract for the procurement of the minehunters from the United Kingdom was concluded in September 2006.
The first vessel, the Admiral Cowan, was delivered on 26 April 2007, the EML Sakala in January 2008 and the EML Ugandi at the beginning of the current year. These Sandown class minehunters were built in 1988, 1990 and 1992 respectively. The vessels use Seafox type submersible robots to detect and to dispose of mines. The EML Ugandi is also equipped with a Klein 5000 series side scan sonar system and a 23 mm cannon.
