Ukraine may deploy four minesweepers from UK to Strait of Hormuz – The Times

Four Ukrainian minesweepers currently berthed in Portsmouth may join a British and French-led mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: The Times, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Ukrainian naval officers will participate in a multinational military planning summit at the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) in north-west London on 22 April.

They will announce that Ukraine is ready to send any of the vessels – two of which were purchased from the UK for demining the Black Sea after the end of the Russo-Ukrainian war – a source in Ukrainian military circles stated.

Military officers from over 30 countries are expected to attend the two-day meeting in London to discuss in detail what military assets can be deployed to protect vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

Kyiv wants to assist its allies in the Middle East to the maximum extent possible, amid fears that US President Donald Trump may turn against Ukraine and strike a deal with Russia, which is accused of assisting Iran.

Other ways in which Ukraine could help include deploying naval drones or counter-drone equipment to assist allied countries in defending shipping from Iranian attacks.

"We are ready to offer everything. There are four minehunters, all in Portsmouth. They can't go to Ukraine because first of all they would be target number one, and secondly because of the Montreux convention," the source stated.

For reference: The Montreux Convention is a 1936 agreement that restricts the passage of warships through the Bosphorus strait in wartime. The effect of this convention means that the former HMS Shoreham and HMS Grimsby – two Sandown-class Royal Navy minesweepers transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2023 – have remained in British waters as they cannot pass through to the Black Sea.

In the long term, Ukraine hopes they will become an important element of defence, detecting and neutralising sea mines.

The minesweepers Mariupol and Melitopol are also based in Portsmouth. They were transferred to Ukraine following service in the Belgian and Dutch navies. The vessels, formerly named Narcis and Vlaardingen, are undergoing training with the Royal Navy with Ukrainian crews, awaiting the end of the war.

The Shoreham carried out a three-year assignment in the Middle East from 2018, guaranteeing the safety of sea lanes. The vessel was responsible for neutralising mines laid in deep water, as its sonar detaches from the hull and can be lowered.

Background:

• On 17 April, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that France and the United Kingdom will launch a purely defensive military mission to protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz "as soon as conditions allow".
• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined via video link on 17 April a meeting of around a dozen states discussing the normalisation of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

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