Mine Laying Capability for All Navies by SH Defence

Mine laying, a low cost but very effective capability is making a comeback among navies worldwide in the wake of current events in the Black Sea. While few navies operate vessels with the capability to lay mines, Danish company SH Defence offers a new solution: A dedicated mine laying module. The Cube is a container-based modular payload concept that was first launched in 2020 by SH Defence. Today, the Cube portfolio consists in a range of over 300 payloads ranging from propulsion systems to decoy launchers and even search and rescue modules. The latest addition to The Cube ecosystem was unveiled during MAST Med 2020 conference and exhibition that took place in Athens, Greece in 2-4 November 2022: It is a Containerized Mine Laying System which can easily and quickly turn navy ships into mine laying platforms. My story for Naval News, here.

PHOTO GALLERY #20: Jotvingis, minelayer and command vessel of the Lithuanian Navy

Jotvingis, minelayer and command vessel of the Lithuanian Navy

This is the third photo gallery (see previous posts) from my visit to Kiel, on the first weekend of the 136th Kiel Week. The Kiel Week (German: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in the world, and also one of the largest Volksfeste in Germany, attracting millions of people every year from all over Germany and neighboring countries. The first weekend of the Kiel Week, the famous Naval Base of Kiel, opens its gates for just four hours per day, for thousands of tourists who are eager to visit the German Navy warships and dozens of foreign warships which visit the city of Kiel, to honor the Kiel Week. Note that the majority of the visiting warships had returned from the NATO BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) Exercise, an annual joint, multinational maritime-focused exercise. It is designed to improve training value for participants enhance flexibility and interoperability, and demonstrate resolve among allied and partner forces in defending the Baltic Sea region. The Lithuanian Navy was represented by the N42 Jotvingis, former HNoMS Vidar (N52), a Royal Norwegian Navy Vidar class minelayer, built in Bergen in 1977, and sold to Lithuania in 2006 where she was later modernized. The ship has a  displacement of 1,700t at full load and has a length of 65 meters. It can carry up to 400 mines (depending on the type) and it is armed with two 40mm guns and two M2HB 12.7mm heavy machine guns. Enjoy photos from my visit aboard this very interesting warship!

PHOTO GALLERY #19: Kraków, minelayer/landing ship of the Polish Navy

ORP Kraków, landing ship/minelayer of the Polish Navy.

This is the second photo gallery (the first one is U36, submarine of the German Navy) from my visit to Kiel, on the first weekend of the 136th Kiel Week. The Kiel Week (German: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in the world, and also one of the largest Volksfeste in Germany, attracting millions of people every year from all over Germany and neighboring countries. The first weekend of the Kiel Week, the famous Naval Base of Kiel, opens its gates for just four hours per day, for thousands of tourists who are eager to visit the German Navy warships and dozens of foreign warships which visit the city of Kiel, to honor the Kiel Week. Note that, the majority of the visiting warships had returned from the NATO BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) Exercise, an annual joint, multinational maritime-focused exercise. It is designed to improve training value for participants enhance flexibility and interoperability, and demonstrate resolve among allied and partner forces in defending the Baltic Sea region. The Polish Navy, a Kiel Week's regular visitor ,was represented by the ORP Kraków, the third ship in the Lublin class. The Lublin class (Projekt 767) are minelayer-landing ships designed and built in Poland for the Polish Navy, in service since 1989. Only five out of the twelve planned ships were built, by the Northern Shipyard in Gdańsk, due to the fall of Communism. They can carry up to nine (9) T-72 tanks or 17 transport vehicles and 135 equipped troops. Moreover, the ships were designed to carry up to 80 naval mines. The ships are named after the chief cities of the Piast dynasty. ORP Kraków has a full displacement close to 1,800t and a length of almost 96 meters. The ship is armed with four ZU-23-2MR Wróbel-II twin 23mm gun turrets, installed forward and aft the superstructure in pairs, as well as with Grom MANPADS. Enjoy photos from my visit aboard this truly unique and very well maintained warship, a ship that I always wanted to visit!

Wonsan and Nampo minelayer classes of the Republic of Korea Navy

Written by D-Mitch

RoKS Nampo, one of the most advanced minelayers in the world today

Today, some of the most advanced and most capable modern minelayer classes belong to the Republic of Korea Navy (South Korean Navy). This is the Wonsan class and its evolution, the Nampo class, which will be analyzed thoroughly in this article. The first ship in the Nampo class, RoKS Nampo with the pennant number 570, was launched just recently by the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), on 27th of May of 2017. It is not known yet how many ships in the class will follow exactly but at least three more ships are expected. The designation name of the class is Mine Layer Ship (MLS)-II following the previous sole ship and predecessor of the type, MLS-I type, the Wonsan (560), which was delivered to the Republic of Korea Navy in 1998. Initially, South Korea was planning to build three MLS-I ships but due to budget constraints of that time only one vessel was completed. Big, modern, heavily armed, multi-purpose ships, these are definitely the most well equipped minelayers in the world today proving that the minelayer designs have still future.

Osman Gazi class landing ship / minelayer of the Turkish Navy

Written by D-Mitch


Osman Gazi landing/minelayer ship. Photo: trmilitary.com

The Osman Gazi class landing ships consists of only one vessel in service, the Osman Gazi, which is the newest and largest active landing ship of the Turkish Navy (Turkish: Türk Donanması) at the moment (2014). It is worth mentioning that the design is completely indigenous. The second ship in the class, thee NL126 Orhan Gazi, was cancelled. The pennant number is NL-125; NL due to the two roles that the ships has, N stands for minelayer while L for landing ship. The Osman Gazi was launched in 1990 at the Taşkızak Naval Shipyard and it was commissioned in 1994. The ship followed an extensive modernization in the period 2010-2011 in Alaybey Shipyard, İzmir. The general characteristics of the ship, is a full displacement of about 3,775tons, a length of 105m, speed of 17 knots while the range is 4,000n.m. with the cruising speed of 15 knots.