The Sandown class is a class

Ship class

A ship class is a group of ships of a similar design. This is distinct from a ship-type, which might reflect a similarity of tonnage or intended use. For example, the is a nuclear aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class....

 of minehunter

Minehunter

Minehunters are mine countermeasure vessels that actively detect and destroy individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines...

 originally built for the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

). Sandown-class vessels also serve with the Royal Saudi Navy

Military of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's armed forces are mainly the responsibility of the Ministry of Defense and Aviation. The Ministry also has responsibility for the construction of civilian airports as well as military bases, and for Meteorology departments...

 and the Estonian Navy (Merevägi). The first vessel was commissioned into Royal Navy service on 9 June 1989 and all the British ships are named after coastal towns and cities.

These small (53 m) fibreglass vessels are single role mine hunters (SRMH) rather than minesweepers. Twelve ships were built for the Royal Navy and three ships were exported to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

. Three Royal Navy vessels were decommissioned following the Strategic Defence Review

Strategic Defence Review

The Strategic Defence Review was a British policy document produced by the Labour Government that came to power in 1997. Then Secretary of State for Defence, George Robertson, set out the initial defence policy of the new government, with a series of key decisions designed to enhance the United...

 in 2003; Sandown (January 2005), Inverness (April 2005) and Bridport (July 2004). A further ship, Cromer, was decommissioned and transferred to a training role at the Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...

 in Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Devon

Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...

 in 2001 as Hindostan.

The three decommissioned vessels were sold to Estonia

Estonia

Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...

 in September 2006. They were re-equipped with TCS (Tactical Control System) and the Atlas Elektronik Seafox ROV for mine disposal. The sonar system will be also be updated. The first ship (ex Sandown), delivered in 2007, has been named Admiral Cowan

EML Admiral Cowan (M313)

EML Admiral Cowan is a Sandown-class minehunter, the former HMS Sandown lead ship of her class of the Royal Navy, now of the Estonian Navy. She is part of the Estonian Navy's Mineships Division. The commanding officer of the vessel is Lieutenant Commander Johan-Elias Seljamaa...

, the second (ex-Inverness), was delivered in 2008 and named Sakala

EML Sakala (M314)

EML Sakala is a Sandown-class minehunter of the Estonian Navy and belongs to the Estonian Navy Mineships Division. The commanding officer of the vessel is Senior Lieutenant Ain Pärna.-Introduction:...

 and the last (ex-Bridport) named Ugandi

EML Ugandi (M315)

EML Ugandi is a Sandown-class minehunter commissioned by the Estonian Navy in 2009. Ugandi is a former Royal Navy vessel HMS Bridport built by Woolston Yard of Southampton-based shipbuilders Vosper Thornycroft....

 in 2009.

Ships

Name	Pennant number	Builder	Launched	Commissioned	Home port	Status
Royal Navy
Sandown HMS Sandown (M101) HMS Sandown was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She was decommissioned in 2005.-Career:HMS Sandown was built by Vosper Thornycroft and launched on 16 April 1988 by the Duchess of Gloucester, as the lead ship of the 12 ship class of Sandown class minehunters...	M101	Vosper Thornycroft, Woolston	1988	1989		Sold to Estonia as Admiral Cowan EML Admiral Cowan (M313) EML Admiral Cowan is a Sandown-class minehunter, the former HMS Sandown lead ship of her class of the Royal Navy, now of the Estonian Navy. She is part of the Estonian Navy's Mineships Division. The commanding officer of the vessel is Lieutenant Commander Johan-Elias Seljamaa...
Inverness HMS Inverness (M102) HMS Inverness was a Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy. She was decommissioned in 2005.-Career:Inverness was built by Vosper Thornycroft and launched on 27 February 1990 as one of the 12 ship class of Sandown-class minehunters.Inverness took part in the major joint service Exercise Saif...	M102	Vosper Thornycroft	1990	1991		Sold to Estonia as Sakala EML Sakala (M314) EML Sakala is a Sandown-class minehunter of the Estonian Navy and belongs to the Estonian Navy Mineships Division. The commanding officer of the vessel is Senior Lieutenant Ain Pärna.-Introduction:...
Cromer HMS Cromer (M103) HMS Cromer was a Sandown class minehunter commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1992. She was named after the North Norfolk seaside town of the same name....	M103	Vosper Thornycroft	1990	1992	Dartmouth	Training ship, renamed Hindostan
Walney HMS Walney (M104) HMS Walney was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She was the fourth of the Sandown-class minehunters, and the second ship to carry the name, which comes from the island off Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria on the north-west coast of England.-Career:She was launched on 25 November...	M104	Vosper Thornycroft	1991	1992	Faslane	decommissioned
Bridport HMS Bridport (M105) HMS Bridport was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She decommissioned in 2004, and is awaiting transfer to the Estonian Navy....	M105	Vosper Thornycroft	1992	1993		Sold to Estonia as Ugandi EML Ugandi (M315) EML Ugandi is a Sandown-class minehunter commissioned by the Estonian Navy in 2009. Ugandi is a former Royal Navy vessel HMS Bridport built by Woolston Yard of Southampton-based shipbuilders Vosper Thornycroft....
Penzance HMS Penzance (M106) HMS Penzance is a Sandown class minehunter commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1998. She is named after the Cornwall seaside town of the same name, and is the fourth vessel to bear the name.-External links:*...	M106	Vosper Thornycroft	1997	1998	Faslane	Active
Pembroke HMS Pembroke (M107) HMS Pembroke is a Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy.-External links:* *...	M107	Vosper Thornycroft	1997	1998	Faslane	Active
Grimsby HMS Grimsby (M108) HMS Grimsby is a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy, and the second ship to bear the name.-History:She was built by Vosper Thornycroft, in Woolston, Hampshire, and commissioned in 1999...	M108	Vosper Thornycroft	1998	1999	Faslane	Active
Bangor HMS Bangor (M109) HMS Bangor is a Sandown class minehunter commissioned by the Royal Navy in 1999. She is named after the Northern Ireland seaside town of the same name, and the second Royal Navy vessel to bear the name.-Operation Unified Protector:...	M109	Vosper Thornycroft	1999	1999	Faslane	Active
Ramsey HMS Ramsey (M110) HMS Ramsey is a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. Like other vessels of the Sandown class, the Ramsey is built of glass-reinforced plastic and other non-magnetic materials so that her hull does not trigger mines as easily as standard warships.She is the third vessel to bear the...	M110	Vosper Thornycroft	1999	2000	Faslane	Active
Blyth HMS Blyth (M111) HMS Blyth is a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She is the second vessel to bear the name.The first being a Bangor class minesweeper of the Second World War,pennant number J15....	M111	Vosper Thornycroft	2000	2001	Faslane	Active
Shoreham HMS Shoreham (M112) HMS Shoreham is a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She is the fifth vessel to bear the name.-External links:* -References:...	M112	Vosper Thornycroft	2001	2001	Faslane	Active
Royal Saudi Arabian Navy
		Vosper Thornycroft
		Vosper Thornycroft
		Vosper Thornycroft
Estonian Navy
	M313	Vosper Thornycroft	1988	2007	Tallinn	Active
	M314	Vosper Thornycroft	1990	2008	Tallinn	Active
	M315	Vosper Thornycroft	1992	2009	Tallinn	Active