HMS Pembroke, formerly a UK Royal Navy Sandown-Class minehunter, will be sent to Romania sometime in the next few months.
In a parliamentary written response on 27 May, the UK Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry Maria Eagle confirmed that the ship, now more than 26-years old, will be delivered to the Romanian Navy in the summer of 2025.
Go deeper with GlobalData
This action will conclude a deal in which Romania purchased two British minehunters, HMSs Blyth and Pembroke, in September 2023.
Delivery of Pembroke will come more than a year after the ship was initially scheduled to be delivered in spring last year. Prior to this, the Royal Navy had decommissioned the vessel in 2021.
Meanwhile, Eagle added that disposal options are being scoped for two additional Sandown-Class ships, while HMS Bangor remains in service.
Minehunter capability
Sandown-Class ships have a length of 52.5 metres, a displacement of 600 tonnes, and travel at a speed of 13 knots. They are built almost entirely of non-magnetic materials and are designed to resist high shock levels.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe vessels use high-definition sonar and clearance diver teams to survey the seabed in search of mines and lost explosives. Once detected, the mines are neutralised, either by divers or the ATLAS Seafox mine disposal system.
The platforms also aide in the security of the maritime lines of communication, which are essential to international shipping and the world economy.
Strategic transaction
The decision to sell two minehunters to Romania proves all the more prudent following the growing number of instances in which adversaries conduct intrusive and disruptive actions underwater against power cables and other forms of critical national infrastructure beneath the surface.
As a Nato ally, Romania will operate the two legacy minehunters in the Black Sea, a contested environment in the Russia-Ukraine war, as the two ships continue to protect the interests of the military alliance.
Notably, the UK had already donated two other Sandown-Class minehunters to Ukraine – HMSs Grimsby and Shoreham – in January 2024. However, Türkiye, which controls the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits, the single access point to the Black Sea, restricted the transit of the two warships on their way to Ukraine in accordance with the 1936 Montreux Convention, which essentially sets a maritime arms embargo on countries at war.
This time around, the deal will strengthen the mine hunting capabilities of the Romanian Navy in response to so-called grey-zone conflict – the dubious space between peace and war – conducted by adversaries. In this instance, the vessels are theoretically permitted to enter the Black Sea.
Mothership for drones?
Throughout their service in the Royal Navy, these ships were equipped with two underwater PAP 104 Mk5 remote-controlled mine-disposal vehicles, supplied by Societe ECA. This vehicle is controlled via a 2,000 metre fibre-optic cable.
But with the onset of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), it may be that these two legacy ships will serve as a platform for emerging mine countermeasure drones.
According to recent intelligence from GlobalData, AUVs will account for nearly 42% of the global military uncrewed maritime vehicles market, which overall is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of a staggering 8.9% over the next ten years.
Already, Europe is projected to dominate the sector with a share of 38.8%, followed by the Asia-Pacific region, and North America.
According to Raytheon UK, capabilities will come before big, costly platforms. So Romania’s decision to induct the legacy ships may go some way to proving this new force structure, as platforms begin to provide space for numerous, advanced capabilities, not just one particular effect as has been the case in the past.
