Tasked with clearing up the ordnance left from the Second World War in the Baltic, the Estonian Navy purchased three Single Role Mine Hunters in 2006 from the UK Ministry of Defence.  ENL Admiral Cowan, ENL Sakala and ENL Ugandi as they are now named went through regeneration at Rosyth, Scotland while their crews of circa 37 were trained off and on shore in a bespoke programme managed by VT Flagship.

The three ships were again operational together at the project completion ceremony which took place in Tallinn, Estonia in late April 09. Present at the ceremony were VT Flagship’s Tony Bassett (Project Manager) and Dave Edwards (Senior Programmes Manager). They’ve overseen the project from conception to completion and were delighted to work with the circa 70 Estonians (officers and crew) who went through the programme.

Their delight was shared by a number of dignitaries. Tony says: “It was tremendous to see the ships together and all at VT Flagship wish the Estonian Navy well in its task of clearing mines. I was thanked personally by the Commanding Officers of the ships for the high level of training and support given to the crews.”

The contract valued at over £1m, has successfully taken the Estonian Navy crew members through one of three streams of UK based training; Marine Engineering, Weapons Electrical and Operations. These training programmes have been delivered by a blend of VT Flagship’s instructors and Royal Navy personnel in RN establishments across the UK, for both officers and crew.

On-board training took place for two weeks either side of the handover – whereby the VT Flagship instructors were able to pull the crew’s individual specialisms together into a cohesive team.

Says Tony Bassett: “The intensity of training given on-board challenges all crews. Exercises such as fire and floods were ramped up in intensity while the ship’s company was trained to be a cohesive crew and to work as one. However, the contract has been very successful. All elements, UK wide, have worked well together to produce a good end product in the form of a well trained crew for the Mine Hunters in the Estonian Navy.”

Admiral Cowan saw active service in both World wars. In the inter-war years he commanded the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron during their deployment to the Baltic Sea. Here, following the Armistice, his squadron actively supported Estonian forces during the Estonian War of Independence. Ultimately his squadron’s actions enabled Estonian forces to gain independence from the Russian Empire, resulting in the Treaty of Tartu. In honour of these actions, often described as the ‘birth certificate of Estonia’, the mine hunter now bears his name; ENL Admiral Cowan.