HrMS Urk (M861)

HrMs Urk is a Tripartite class and she is in a class of mine warfare vessel used by the navies of Belgium, France and the Netherlands, as well as Pakistan, Indonesia, Latvia, and Bulgaria.  They were conceived in the 1970s and built in the 1980s. France built the mine-hunting equipment, Belgium provided the electronics, and the Netherlands constructed the propulsion train. France and the Netherlands originally bought 15, with Belgium buying 10.

All three countries' Tripartite ships contribute at times to NATO's Standing Maritime MCM capability groups (SNMCMG1 or SNMCMG2).

The Netherlands “Alkmaar” class consists of the following units:

M857 Makkum

M860 Schiedam

M861 Urk

M862 Zierkzee

M863 Vlaardingen

M864 Willemstad

Two of her sisters and more details on the class can be seen arriving at Leith previously HERE 

The main task of the minehunters is to keep the sea, coastal waters and harbour approaches free of mines. They also protect maritime units in areas where there are mines by conducting specific mine countermeasures operations.  The minehunters can be deployed anywhere in the world to provide support to land operations from the sea. But they can also operate closer to home, locating and clearing mines and other explosive ordnance at sea in the Dutch sector of the Continental Shelf.  Thanks to their special glass-reinforced polyester construction, minehunters produce very little sound and no magnetic field disturbance. They will not, therefore, set off a mine if they pass over it.

The size of the crew depends on the tasks to be carried out. The total size can vary between 28 and 38 crew members. Everyone on board has their own tasks and specialty. In addition, every crew member has a specific role in the event of, for instance, a fire or if the ship sustains damage. At all times, the crew is a single team, working closely together in a relatively small space, often under difficult circumstances.  The six minehunters of the Alkmaar class operated by the Royal Netherlands Navy are a joint design of the Netherlands, Belgium and France. France built the mine-hunting equipment, Belgium provided the electronics and the Netherlands constructed the propulsion train. To reflect the cooperation between the three countries, the international name of this class of ship is the Tripartite class.  As a cost-cutting measure, four minehunters were decommissioned in 2011. These were HrMs Haarlem, HrMs Maassluis, HrMs Hellevoetsluis and HrMs Middelburg.

HrMs Urk is seen here departing Leith on Monday 21st January 2013 in a snow blizzard..