Former Royal Navy minehunter reaches Constanța Port to join Romanian fleet

A former Royal Navy minehunter has arrived at the Port of Constanța on Monday, November 3, to join the Romanian Naval Forces, following a 41-day journey from the United Kingdom that covered more than 4,200 nautical miles.

The vessel, now named M271 “Căpitan Constantin Dumitrescu,” is the second minehunter delivered to Romania under a government-to-government agreement with the United Kingdom. It officially entered service with the Romanian Navy on August 4 and carries a crew of 40, commanded by Commander Mădălina Drăgan-Ghigalău, the Romanian Naval Forces said.

Previously known as HMS Pembroke, the Sandown-class minehunter is fully interoperable with NATO structures and designed for mine countermeasure operations. It has a displacement of 600 tonnes, measures 52.7 meters in length, 10.5 meters in width, and has a draught of 2.4 meters.

The ship is equipped with specialized systems for detecting and neutralizing naval mines.

The addition of M271 “Căpitan Constantin Dumitrescu” strengthens the 146th Mine Countermeasure Division within the Romanian Fleet and enhances the Navy’s capacity to protect sea lanes and critical infrastructure in the Black Sea, the same source said.

This is the second former British minehunter transferred to Romania, following the delivery of HMS Blyth, which became M270 Sublocotenent Ion Ghiculescu in September 2023.

(Photo source: Facebook/Forțele Navale Române)