The Project 207 vessel was developed as a roadstead minesweeper, intended to complement the larger base minesweepers of Projects 254K/254M (12 units in the 12th Minesweeper Division in Świnoujście, commissioned between 1955 and 1958) and Project 206F (12 units in the 13th Minesweeper Division in Hel, commissioned between 1963 and 1967), which formed the backbone of the Polish Navy’s mine countermeasure forces at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s. The new roadstead minesweepers were intended to replace the Project 361T minesweeping cutters that were being withdrawn from service at the time.
The decommissioning of the minesweeper ORP Gopło provided an opportunity for a meeting of the ship’s current and former commanding officers / Photos: Przemysław Gurgurewicz, MILMAG
However, the new Project 255 minehunters (also known under the codename “Lodówka”), intended to replace the existing base minesweepers, as well as the later-planned Project 256 Kormoran base minesweepers, were never built. The gradual withdrawal from service of the aging Project 254K/M minesweepers (which took place between 1987 and 1990) required finding a replacement. As a result, the Project 207 roadstead minesweepers were reclassified and took over the role of base minesweepers.
The crew assembled on the stern before the final lowering of the naval ensign
The first unit built under the program, also known by the codename Indyk (Polish for turkey), was the Project 207D vessel (experimental), the ORP Gopło, decommissioned today. As an experimental unit, it was used for trials and testing aimed at determining the final design of the production ships. For this reason, its hull number, 630, ended with a zero, indicating a vessel designated for testing (similarly to ORP Kaszub, which was assigned the number 240).
The Inspector of the Navy was represented at the ceremony by the Commander of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla, Rear Admiral Piotr Sikora
In 1982, construction began on a prototype unit designated Project 207P. Ultimately, between 1982 and 1990, a total of 12 Project 207P minesweepers (631–642) were built, with the last of them, ORP Hańcza, entering service on March 1, 1991. Initially, they were assigned to the 13th Minesweeper Division in Hel; however, following the withdrawal of the Project 254K/M base minesweepers, all of them were eventually incorporated into the 12th Minesweeper Division in Świnoujście. In 1989, construction began on a modernized series designated Project 207M, intended for the 13th Minesweeper Division in Hel. Originally, five such vessels were ordered, but ultimately only four (643–646) entered service between 1992 and 1994. The fifth was ORP Gopło itself, which was modernized between 1996 and 1997 to the standard of the second series and redesignated as Project 207DM.
The moment of the final lowering of the naval ensign by the commanding officer, Capt. (Navy) Mikołaj Jałtuszewski
44 Years of Service
ORP Gopło, which was initially assigned to the 9th Coastal Defense Flotilla in Hel, served for many years, since the raising of its ensign on March 13, 1982, in research work related to the development of underwater weapons. After the Project 207P minesweepers were transferred to Świnoujście, ORP Gopło moved to Gdynia, where it was assigned to a research vessel unit. At the beginning of 1995, a new Training and Research Ships Division was formed, to which hull 630 was also assigned. Shortly thereafter, a decision was made to incorporate the only Project 207D minesweeper into the 13th Minesweeper Division, and in 1996 it was sent to the Naval Shipyard to be upgraded to the standard of the recently built Project 207M vessels. After modernization, ORP Gopło was redesignated as Project 207DM and entered service with the 13th Minesweeper Division in Hel on July 1, 1997.
From that point on, it carried out standard duties of a base minesweeper, participating in numerous exercises as well as operations involving the neutralization of explosive ordnance at sea. Among these were:
- February 11, 1999 – neutralization of a drifting torpedo spotted near the Beta West drilling platform, later recovered by the torpedo recovery vessel K-8.
- July 9, 2011 – together with ORP Drużno, recovery and subsequent destruction at a training range of two objects found in the Pomeranian Bay: a U.S. AN-M65 general-purpose bomb and a British A Mark VI aerial mine, the latter taken aboard Gopło.
- January 23–25, 2016 – lifting, towing to a safe area, and destruction of a German bottom mine located in the port channel in Gdańsk, near the Wisłoujście Fortress (together with ORP Flaming, ORP Wdzydze, and a team of clearance divers).
- October 11–13, 2018 – neutralization of naval mines resting on the seabed of the Gulf of Gdańsk, near the port of Gdynia (together with ORP Czajka and a team of clearance divers).
- August 2019 – recovery from the seabed of the Szczecin Lagoon, transport, and neutralization of a British A Mark VI aerial mine and a German DM depth charge (together with a team of clearance divers).
The ship’s commanding officer and his deputy present the naval ensign and the naval pennant. The latter has been restored to its traditional form, fortunately reinstated on June 24, 2025, after more than 30 years (1993–2025) of a distorted version
The Future of Project 207 Minesweepers
Following today’s decommissioning of ORP Gopło, 16 Project 207 vessels remain in service: 12 of Project 207P (631–642) and 4 of Project 207M (643–646). Some of them are currently undergoing modernization to a new standard, which, beyond upgrades to communication and surveillance equipment, onboard systems, and lifting gear, also includes a change of propulsion. The first such work was carried out on ORP Drużno (641), which underwent overhaul and modernization at the Nauta Repair Shipyard between July 2017 and early 2019.
Its original M401A1 engines were replaced with German MTU 8V2000M72 units, while the 43ZPM-52H6 generator sets powered by Wola H6 engines were replaced with MPAP-108 generator sets equipped with Cummins QSB7D(M) engines.
The ship’s bell of ORP Gopło. It bears the year 1981, as although the naval ensign was raised on March 13, 1982, the completed vessel was handed over by the Naval Shipyard to the Navy already in December 1981
Subsequent contracts for the modernization of Project 207 minesweepers were signed:
- June 24, 2022 – for the modernization of three vessels: two Project 207P units – ORP Necko (639) and ORP Nakło (640) – and one Project 207M unit, ORP Mamry (643).
- August 22, 2024 – for the modernization of one Project 207M vessel, ORP Wigry (644).
- December 10, 2025 – for the modernization of two Project 207P vessels: ORP Resko (637) and ORP Sarbsko (638).
A limited modernization, involving the installation of the Ukwiał system with an underwater vehicle, as well as disposable Głuptak underwater vehicles equipped with explosive charges for mine disposal, was also carried out on ORP Hańcza (643).
In total, plans call for the modernization of 10 of the youngest Project 207 vessels, commissioned between 1988 and 1994: six Project 207P units (637–642) and four Project 207M units (643–646). Together with six Project 258 Kormoran II minehunters, they are to form two identical mine countermeasure groups based in Gdynia and Świnoujście. Each division is to consist of five modernized Project 207 minesweepers and three Project 258 minehunters.
During its 44 years of service, ORP Gopło was commanded by:
- Lt. (Navy) Jerzy Karpiński (13.03.1982 – 05.09.1983)
- Lt. (Navy) Bogusław Korczyński (23.12.1983 – 17.08.1985)
- Lt. (Navy) Andrzej Tamas (17.08.1985 – 29.06.1987)
- Lt. (Navy) Roman Lemiech (29.06.1987 – 03.07.1989)
- Lt. (Navy) Andrzej Kłoszewski (03.07.1989 – 30.06.1994)
- Lt. (Navy) Wojciech Gocek (30.06.1994 – 04.07.1997)
- Lt. (Navy) Aleksander Gierkowski (04.07.1997 – 27.10.1998)
- Capt. (Navy) Jarosław Handz (27.10.1998 – 01.01.2002)
- Capt. (Navy) Aleksander Gierkowski (01.01.2002 – 31.01.2007)
- Lt. Cmdr. Artur Rożek (01.08.2007 – 30.06.2014)
- Lt. Cmdr. Michał Dziugan (23.02.2015 – 29.07.2016)
- Capt. (Navy) Robert Głowacki (29.07.2016 – 06.11.2017)
- Capt. (Navy) Tomasz Janczyński (06.11.2017 – 19.10.2018)
- Capt. (Navy) Bartosz Blaszke (19.10.2018 – 31.03.2022)
- Capt. (Navy) Mikołaj Jałtuszewski (03.11.2025 – 13.03.2026)
