The Netherlands will transfer to Ukraine, as early as June 2026, the mine countermeasure vessel Zr. Ms. Makkum, which will be renamed “Henichesk”.
The announcement was made by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on April 16, during a visit to Vlissingen, in the Netherlands, where he observed the training of Ukrainian personnel aboard the vessel.
According to the Ukrainian presidential office, the crew is being fully trained by the Dutch and is already operating different types of underwater drones used to detect, identify, and neutralize naval mines. Also according to the presidency, a significant portion of the Ukrainian sailors involved in the program has real combat experience, including at sea.
The name “Henichesk” was chosen in honor of a Ukrainian vessel lost in June 2022 during a combat mission near the Kinburn Spit. The future incorporation of the former Makkum strengthens the mine warfare capability that Ukraine is building with Western support. In a statement published in April, Zelenskyy said this will be the fifth vessel in this joint effort, following earlier deliveries of units named Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Mariupol, and Melitopol.
The delivery of the new vessel also continues a process that began in 2025, when Belgium and the Netherlands formalized the transfer of the minehunters BNS Narcis and Zr.Ms. Vlaardingen to the Ukrainian Navy. At the time, Vlaardingen was renamed Melitopol, while Makkum was still cited by Dutch authorities as the next unit to be transferred, then expected by the end of 2025.
Training of Ukrainian crews with vessels of this class had already been organized by the Netherlands since 2024. In December of that year, the Dutch Ministry of Defense reported that 35 Ukrainians had completed training aboard Makkum, with support from instructors and interpreters from NATO countries, while technical teams also received training in Belgium.
Makkum belongs to the Alkmaar class, the Dutch version of the Tripartite family, developed in cooperation by Belgium, France, and the Netherlands based on the French Circé design. In total, 35 vessels were built for the three navies between the 1980s and 1990s. In this industrial arrangement, France was responsible for mine countermeasure and electronic systems, the Netherlands for propulsion systems, and Belgium for power generation systems.
In the Dutch units, the class’s standard displacement evolved from about 520 tons to 571 tons and later to 630 tons. The originally planned 20 mm guns were removed, leaving three 12.7 mm machine guns for self-defense. According to data released in 2024, each vessel operates with four officers, 15 non-commissioned officers, and 17 personnel.
With the future incorporation of the “Henichesk”, Kyiv strengthens a capability considered strategic for the post-war period and for the security of maritime routes in the Black Sea, especially given the presence of mines that continue to affect navigation and Ukraine’s port infrastructure.
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Source and images: Militarnyi | Office of the President of Ukraine. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
