EML ''Wambola'' (A433) is a built in 1977. As KDM ''Lossen'', she served in the

Danish Navy The Royal Danish Navy (, ) is the Naval warfare, sea-based branch of the Danish Armed Forces force. The RDN is mainly responsible for maritime defence and maintaining the sovereignty of Denmark, Danish territorial waters (incl. Faroe Islands and ...

until 2006. Sold to the

Estonian Maritime Academy Estonian Maritime Academy of Tallinn University of Technology ( Estonian: ''TalTech Eesti Mereakadeemia'', or EMERA) is a vocational university in Estonia. It is one of the schools of Tallinn University of Technology and it is the only educational ...

as a maritime training vessel, she was renamed MS ''Kristiina''. In 2009, she was handed over to the

Estonian Navy The Estonian Navy () are the unified naval forces among the Estonian Defence Forces. With only six commissioned ships and displacement well under 10,000 tonnes, the Estonian navy is one of the smallest navies in the world. Its ship prefix is EM ...

as a command and support vessel and renamed ''Wambola''.

History

KDM ''Lossen'' () was built in Denmark by Svendborg Ship Yard Ltd. as a

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

. Her crest was prepared by the Navy's Heraldic Working Group at the request of the Chief of the Danish Navy and approved by Queen Margrethe II on 1 December 1976. The vessel was laid down on 9 June 1977 and launched on 9 September 1977. She entered service a year later on 14 June 1978 and became part of the Danish 2. Minelayer Division. In 1982, ''Lossen'' was made available to STANAVFORCHAN for command and support duties. ''Lossen'' served as a command ship when she participated in the exercise Blue Harrier between 12 and 22 April 1988. The

decommissioned KDM ''Lossen'' on 22 October 2004 and sold the vessel to the

on 4 July 2006. Renamed MS ''Kristiina'', it was intended that she be used as a maritime training vessel. However, due to shortfalls in funding, the Maritime Academy handed the vessel over to the

on 10 September 2009. The ship was renamed EML ''Wambola'' on 14 May 2010 and left in reserve. ''Wambola'' was modernized in the first half of 2016 and commissioned to replace on 1 November 2016, with (Lt. Junior Grade) Leitnant Ermo Jeedas becoming her commander. EML ''Wambola'' took up the role of flagship of

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) standing mine countermeasures immediate reaction force. Its role is to provide NATO with an immediate operational response capability. History Fro ...

between 8 February 2017 and 29 June 2017. On 31 August 2017, (Lt.) Vanemleitnant Tanel Kangro became the ship's commander. On 16 August 2019, (Lt. Comdr.) Kaptenmajor Deniss Tulin replaced Tanel Kangro as the captain of the ship.

References

External links

Estonian NavyStanding NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One (SNMCMG1)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wambola (A433), EML Lindormen-class minelayers 1977 ships Ships built in Svendborg