HMS Shoreham Leading a Convoy in the Middle East MOD 45154418

HMS ''Shoreham'' was a of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. She was the fifth vessel to bear the name. From 2018 to 2021, ''Shoreham'' was deployed at UKNSF Bahrain together with three other mine countermeasures ships as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron on Operation Kipion. In 2022 she was decommissioned from the Royal Navy and transferred to

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, where she in 2023 was commissioned into the

Ukrainian Navy The Ukrainian Navy (), is the Navy, maritime force of Ukraine and one of the eight Military branch, service branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The naval forces consist of five components: surface forces, submarine forces, Ukrainian Naval ...

as ''Черкаси'' (

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

''Cherkasy''), with

pennant number In the Royal Navy and other navies of Europe and the Commonwealth of Nations, ships are identified by pennant number (an internationalisation of ''pendant number'', which it was called before 1948). Historically, naval ships flew a flag that iden ...

M311.

Operational history

Royal Navy (UK)

2001–2010

''Shoreham'' was accepted into service on 28 November 2001 and commissioned in a ceremony in her namesake port on 20 July 2002.

2011–2022

In 2012, ''Shoreham'' deployed to the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

to join the 9th Mine Countermeasures squadron based in

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

. She returned to

Faslane His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS ''Neptune''), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It ...

on 28 August 2015 after three years away. ''Shoreham'' entered refit in

Rosyth Rosyth () is a town and Garden City in Fife, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth. Scotland's first Garden city movement, Garden City, Rosyth is part of the Greater Dunfermline Area and is located 3 miles south of Dunfermline city cen ...

in 2016 for repair work to her

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

. Other work carried out included installing a new

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

, fitting a new fire detection system and improving the high-pressure air system. She was handed back to the Royal Navy in January 2017. In spring 2017, ''Shoreham'' deployed with NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 1 (SNMCMG1), operating around Northern Europe. During the course of this deployment ''Shoreham'', the last of the ''Sandown'' class to be built, took part in naval exercises with the former , now operated by 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 ''Admiral Cowan''. From 2018 to 2021, ''Shoreham'' served with 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron operating from in the Persian Gulf. In August 2021, ''Shoreham'' returned to the U.K having been relieved by her sister ship . In May 2022, ''Shoreham'' embarked on a final short tour of the UK ahead of her planned decommissioning including a final visit to her namesake port during which 1,500 members of the public toured the ship. In September 2022, she was spotted operating around

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...

carrying the name "Черкаси" () and the pennant number M311. Though still reportedly in commission with the Royal Navy, she was now training sailors of the

prior to her planned handover to that Navy. In October 2022 it was reported that she had been decommissioned.

Ukrainian Navy

On 2 July 2023, the ship was commissioned into the

as "Черкаси" (), in honour of the minesweeper "Черкаси" that was lost during the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014. The ceremony was held in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. In April 2024, it was indicated that ''Cherkasy'' and her sister ship

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

were to be based at

HMNB Portsmouth His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...

for the "foreseeable future as they prepare for exercises with the Royal Navy alongside the US Navy in UK waters, which will help Ukraine understand how to operate with NATO navies".

References

External links

* Sandown-class minehunters Ships built in Southampton 2001 ships Minehunters of the United Kingdom {{UK-minesweeper-stub