Opinion: Estonian ships will sail to the Strait of Hormuz in two or three years

Sending Estonian minesweepers to The Strait of Hormuz may require two to three years of preparation. This was stated by the former commander of the Estonian Navy Yuri Saska.

He recalled that US President Donald Trump called for sending ships to ensure security in In the Strait of Hormuz, and Estonian politicians expressed their readiness to discuss sending forces. According to him, this is not the first time when the direction of Estonian courts to The Persian Gulf. In 2014, Estonia also considered the possibility of joining the American-British anti-mine squadron based in Bahrain.

"We have described everything in great detail: down to the needs for provisions, fuel, spare parts, route and other necessary conditions," he said.

At the same time, Saska noted that when in 2014 on Military operations began in Ukraine, it was decided that the naval forces would not continue working in this direction. At the same time, the former Navy commander stressed that conditions have changed significantly since then, as the ships have become 12 years older during this time.

"The Sandown-class minesweepers we operate are suitable for our region. But in order to bring them into a state that technically allows them to go there (to the Persian Gulf — EADaily), it would take at least two to three years," Saska said.

At the same time, the military believes that it is possible to send units to the region faster than ships.

"But to quote the American president, it is the ships that are being requested. I can bet my head that in the next two years we will definitely not pull it off. There are extremely clear technical limitations. To date, these are fully operational anti—mine vessels, but a huge amount of modifications is required to send them to that region," he said.

Saska stated that the current Estonian anti-mine ships need investments to extend their service life until 2035 or 2040. At the same time, he stressed that, contrary to criticism, it is these ships that are the key tool for strengthening allied relations. Since 2005, they have been serving annually for 4-6 months as part of the permanent NATO mine action group.

"If we send this single ship to the Persian Gulf region, it would not be a 4-6-month mission, but, most likely, a trip for two or three years. The organization of such an operation — from diplomacy to technical support — is simply too resource—intensive and time-consuming," he believes.

Also, the fact that the British and Americans no longer have vessels of this class in this region speaks against sending the ship.

"This means that local support, which was strong in 2014, is essentially absent today. This, in turn, calls into question the feasibility of the venture," Saska summed up.

Recall, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Tehran responded with strikes on Israeli territory and American bases in the region, as well as blocking the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has asked for help from allies in unblocking the strait, but so far no one has expressed readiness to participate in it.