The third minehunter of the Kormoran 2 type was handed over to the Polish Navy after the completion of sea trials and delivery acceptance tests. The ship will be officially commissioned next year.

The Minister of National Defense, Mariusz Błaszczak, announced the handover of the ship. It will join the twin ORP Kormoran and ORP Albatros. The minehunters will be a parto of the 13th Minesweeper Squadron of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla stationed in Gdynia. Not so long ago, on November 28 (anniversary of the creation of the Polish Navy), ORP Albatros was officially commissioned and is currently undergoing tests before it will be allowed to participate in regular patrols, operational activities and training with other ships.

Project 258 Kormoran 2 minehunters are designed to search, classify and identify sea mines, and, if necessary, to destroy them. They can also conduct quick reconnaissance of fairways. They have a length of 58.5 m, with a full displacement of 900 tons. They reach a speed of 15 knots and have a range of 2,500 nautical miles. The crew consists of 45 officers, non-commissioned officers and sailors. The vessels are distinguished by the structure of the hull, made of non-magnetic austenitic steel and designed taking into account the smallest possible effective reflection surface: radar, acoustic and thermal (SPO). It is used to protect against magnetic detonators of sea mines, thanks to which they are practically invisible to them.

Vessels of this type also serve as platforms for the operation of remotely controlled or automated underwater vehicles capable of identifying or, if necessary, destroying dangerous underwater objects. An important equipment of the ship, proving its capabilities, are unmanned underwater vehicles, including autonomous (AUV - autonomous underwater vehicle) Gavia and Hugin, and remotely controlled (ROV - remotely operated underwater vehicle), such as the Saab Double Eagle Mk III deep-sea vehicle and observation sonar Kraken KATFISH 180.

Mewa, like ORP Albatros, will be equipped with the OSU-35K 35 mm naval weapon system, provided by the PIT-RADWAR consortium and intended for both cooperation with the ship's combat management system (CMS) and for autonomous operation. In order to combat underwater threats, Toczek systems of remotely and wirelessly fired explosives to destroy sea mines and Głuptak self-propelled explosives to destroy dangerous objects will also be used.

Like the other Kormoran 2 vessels, Mewa was built by the Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. shipyard. in Gdańsk, in cooperation with PGZ Stocznia Wojenna Sp. z o. o. and the Research and Development Center of Centrum Techniki Morskiej S.A. The launching ceremony (together with the B860 H-13 Przemko tugboat) took place in December 2020. Since then, the ship has participated in sea trials, and then in delivery and acceptance tests before being handed over to the Armament Agency. Several times she went on further trips to the sea, incl. in connection with the Navy Day celebrated on June 26, when she moored in Świnoujście. At that time, the Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak signed an agreement on the order for three more project 258 minehunters, which are to enter service in the years 2026-2027 in the 12th Minesweeper Squadron of the 8th FOW.

Classification supervision of the warship's construction was performed by the Polish Register of Shipping (Polski Rejestr Statków, PRS).

"Participation in projects for the Polish Navy allows PRS to gain valuable experience and expand our competence in the construction of specialized units, such as warships. We will use them in future projects for the defense of the Republic of Poland," said CEO of the PRS Henryk Śniegocki.

The raising of the flag on Mewa is to take place, according to initial assumptions, in February 2023.