According to information published by Portal Stoczniowy on August 18, 2022, at the Remontowa Shipbuilding shipyard in Gdansk, acceptance documents were signed for the second Kormoran II-type mine destroyer, the future ORP Albatros. This is the second ship in a series of modern mine destroyers being built for the Polish Navy by the country's shipbuilding industry.
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Kormoran II class minehunter ORP Albatros (Picture source: Polish MoD)
The handover of the ship was preceded by several months of acceptance trials, during which the equipment of the naval platform and the equipment and systems to combat mine threats were checked. Successful completion of the acceptance trials confirmed the ship's ability to perform its main tasks, which include:
- detecting, identifying and combating sea mines and other objects and explosives in maritime areas,
- securing maritime communication routes,
- conducting operations in mine threat areas,
- assessing the state of the environment in underwater areas.
The ORP Albatros ship is the second in a series of Kormoran II-class mine destroyers. Five years ago, the prototype ship ORP Kormoran was handed over to the Polish Navy.
ORP Kormoran was handed over to the Navy five years ago. Based on the experience gained during its operation, some modifications were made to the design of subsequent ships.
ORP Albatros, as well as subsequent ships, is equipped with new sea area verification equipment. The ship's artillery system has also been changed to a more modern one. She will become part of the 13th minesweeper squadron, which reports to the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla in Swinoujscie.
Kormoran II class are 58.5 m long and 10.3 m wide. The draft is 2.7 meters and the displacement is 830 tons. Contrary to previous construction concepts of this type, the hull was made of non-magnetic steel instead of plastic.
The advantage of the steel hull was, among other things, lower operating costs and higher fire resistance. The hull itself is divided into 33 sections. The ship's superstructure has two floors in the fore section and one floor in the stern.
The main deck has full bulwark. When constructing the ship, efforts were made to limit the unit's detectability by radars. It is powered by two combustion engines with a capacity of 1,360 hp each, which allows a maximum speed of 15 knots. Additionally, the minesweeper has a bow thruster.
The main armament of the ship is a 35 mm KDA type cannon that works with the ZGS-158 optoelectronic head. The ship is equipped with the Integrated Combat System manufactured and supplied by CTM, including: SCOT combat management system, passive defense system, underwater observation system, including SHL-101 / TM and SHL-300 sonar stations and a system of remotely and wirelessly fired charges explosives for destroying sea mines "Toczek".
