Second Sandown-class Minehunter Delivered to Estonia

Estonian Ministry of Defence, Today, Commodore Charles Stevenson, Commander of the Nordic region of the British Royal Navy, delivered the second Sandown class minehunter, ENS Sakala, to the Estonian Ministry of Defence. In total, Estonia will buy three Sandown class vessels from Great Britain. 
 
The Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Defence, Mr. Lauri Almann, officially received the ENS Sakala at the ceremony, which took place at the Babcock shipyard in Rosyth, and the stern flag of a warship of the Estonian Navy, bow jack and pennant of the commander were hoisted on the vessel for the very first time. 
 
On receiving ENS Sakala, Mr. Lauri Almann said that the new minehunters of the Estonian Navy shall increase the capability of the Estonian Navy to locate and dispose of the sea mines that remain in Estonian waters as well as increasing its capacity to participate in international operations. 
 
“The Estonian Navy is not completely ready yet but today’s addition to the Estonian war fleet represents great progress in this direction,” Mr. Almann said. 
 
According to the contract signed with Great Britain in September 2006, Estonia is to purchase three Sandown class minehunters in all. The total price for the three ships is 800 million EEK, which includes refurbishment and maintenance work for the ships, as well as training for the crew in the United Kingdom. Sandown class minehunters use Seafox undersea robots to locate and dispose of sea mines. 
 
The first Sandown class vessel, ENS Admiral Cowan, was delivered to Estonia in April 2007 and the last one, ENS Ugala, will be delivered in the beginning of the next year. ENS Sakala will arrive in Estonia during the spring. 
 
The Commander of the Estonian Navy, Commander Igor Schvede and the Head of the Procurement Department of the Ministry of Defence, Mr. Ingvar Pärnamäe, also participated in the formal ceremony in Rosyth.