Future ORP Swallow: a new mine destroyer for the Polish Navy

On 28 March 2023, there was a solemn cutting of the sheets for the construction of the 4th Kormoran II type mine destroyer. This is the symbolic beginning of the process of building another ship for the Polish Navy, which will have a 604 side number and the name of the ORP Swallow. The main task of this unit will be to search and combat seamines and dangerous facilities on sea basins.

The new mine destroyer will be equipped with a modern drive system, which will allow for high maneuverability. In relation to the already built three units, the new destroyer will have better capabilities to operate in difficult hydro-meteorological conditions, thanks to the new navigation equipment of the latest generation.

The ship will also be equipped with an artillery set of Polish production OSU-35K 35 mm and a new underwater system of deep-sea mine defence codenamed "Dumb". The construction of the ship is carried out under an agreement concluded by the Ministry of Defence with a consortium of companies – Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A., OBR Centre for Maritime Technology and PGZ Stocznia Wojenna. The completion of the series of subsequent units is planned for the end of 2027.

During the burning ceremony many guests took part, including the head of the Board of Armed Forces in the Naval Inspectorate, Rear Admiral Włodzimierz Kulagin, the Head of the Maritime Engineering Department of the Armed Forces Agency, Commander Peter Skin, as well as the commander of both of our trawlers squadrons: Commander of the 12th Cruisers Division, Lieutenant Sławomir Góra, and Commander of the 13th Cruisers Division, Lieutenant Michał Dziugan. The ceremony was also attended by the future commander of the ORP Swallow, Captain Mar. Kamil Kalina.

It is worth noting that the Polish Register of Ships will supervise the construction of new destroyers on the basis of a separate agreement concluded with the SSR last autumn. This will be technical supervision in the classification and convention of naval construction and testing, based on the PRS' own rules on the classification and construction of warships.

It is worth noting that the new Kormoran II type mine destroyer will be an important strengthening of the fleet of the Polish Navy in the field of combating the dangers of seamines and hazardous facilities in sea basins. Poland is one of the countries which have been participating in international action for years to combat the dangers arising from the remnants of World War II and mines and other dangerous items thrown into the sea.

The construction of a new mine destroyer is also an important challenge for the Polish shipbuilding industry, which faces the task of providing a high quality and technologically advanced unit for the Polish Navy. The implementation of this project will also allow the development and modernisation of the national defence industry and its capacity to export.

The new mine destroyers – ORP JASKÓKA, RYBITWA and CZAJKA – will bear the names of the first ships, which in the 1930s formed a squadron of miners and distinguished during the defence of the Polish coast in 1939. An important fact is that they were the first ships designed by Polish engineers and launched in the Polish shipyard, which is the beginning of the history of modern shipbuilding in Poland.

Ta informacja pokazuje, że Polska jest państwem, które inwestuje w rozwój swojej obronności oraz umiejętności obrony swoich interesów i bezpieczeństwa swoich obywateli na arenie międzynarodowej. Budowa kolejnych jednostek tej serii z pewnością przyczyni się do wzmocnienia potencjału Marynarki Wojennej RP oraz zwiększenia bezpieczeństwa na morzu.

Written by JB