HNLMS Vlaardingen

History
Netherlands
Name	Vlaardingen
Namesake	The city of Vlaardingen
Builder	Van der Giessen de Noord, Alblasserdam
Laid down	5 May 1986
Launched	6 August 1988
Commissioned	15 March 1989
Decommissioned	27 March 2024
Identification	Hull number: M868
Fate	Donated to the Ukrainian Navy
Badge
Ukraine
Name	Melitopol
Cost	€ 11.4 million (2007)(equivalent to €14.08 million in 2022) [1]
Acquired	2025
Commissioned	2025
Identification	Hull number: M312
Status	In active service
General characteristics [2] [3]
Type	Alkmaar-class minehunter
Displacement	588  t (579 long tons) full load
Length	51.50 m (169 ft 0 in)
Beam	8.90 m (29 ft 2 in)
Height	18.5 m (60 ft 8 in)
Draft	2.60 m (8 ft 6 in)
Propulsion	1 × 1,860 hp (1,390 kW) Werkspoor RUB 215 V12 diesel engine
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Range	3,000 nmi (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × rigid-hulled inflatable boats 1 × PAP 104 ROV
Crew	44
Sensors & processing systems	1 × DUBM 21B sonar
Armament	1 × 20 mm (0.79 in) machine gun

Melitopol (M312) (ex-HNLMS Vlaardingen (M863)) is a former minehunter of the Royal Netherlands Navy. Now in service with the Ukrainian Navy. ^{[2] [3]}

History

Dutch service

Vlaardingen is the result of a cooperation between France, Belgium and The Netherlands. She is the fourteenth ship of the class in Dutch service and the third ship in the Dutch Navy to be named Vlaardingen. The commissioning ceremony took place in Alblasserdam on 15 March 1989. ^[3]

The decommissioning ceremony took place in Vlaardingen on 27 March 2024. ^[4]

Ukrainian service

Vlaardingen was pledged to the Ukrainian Navy in 2024 together with the Makkum following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She was transferred in 2025 and renamed Melitopol. ^{[2] [3]} The ship can't travel to the Black Sea because of the Montreux Convention.

References

1. 1262 to 1789 Leonardo Ridolfi, The French economy in the longue durée: a study on real wages, working days and economic performance from Louis IX to the Revolution (1250–1789) , Ridolfi, L. (2019). Six Centuries of Real Wages in France from Louis IX to Napoleon III: 1250–1860. The Journal of Economic History, 79(3), 589-627. 1798 to 1809: Mitchell, B. R. (Brian R.). (1975). European historical statistics, 1750-1970. New York: Columbia University Press, 1810 to 1903: Sauvy, Alfred. Variations des prix de 1810 à nos jours. Journal de la société française de statistique, Volume 93 (1952) , pp. 88-104 1904 to 2022: Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Coefficient de transformation de l'euro ou du franc d'une année, en euro ou en franc d'une autre année – Base 2015 – Série utilisée par le convertisseur franc-euro – Identifiant 010605954
2. "Alkmaarklasse mijnenjagers" (in Dutch). Marineschepen.nl. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
3. "Hr.Ms. Vlaardingen. (bnr. 863)" (in Dutch). Onze Marinevloot. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
4. "Mijnenjager Vlaardingen uit dienst, Makkum later dit jaar" (in Dutch). Marineschepen.nl. Retrieved 9 August 2025.