But They Are ... Unglamorous.

Correct, they are, but as the USS Princeton learned it the hard way in 1991, without the minesweepers, also known today as anti-mine warfare ships or MCM (mine counter-measures), you are toast in the littoral and if not for the Canadian Navy's minesweepers, which took Princeton out of the area, this Aegis cruiser could have been stuck in the area for much longer time. And it was a complete incompetence and technological backwardness of Iraqis, and pure luck that it didn't get hit by anti-shipping missile. 

Well, now Royal Navy, or whatever is left of it, laments. 

The Royal Navy is giving up one thing in which it led the world. I hope it can recover

I don't know why the author of this opinion piece claims this (unless he means WW II period, then yes), but in terms of the largest mine-sweeping operations in post-WW II period we can recall the US Navy's operation Nimbus Star in demining the Suez Canal, with Soviet Navy's task group joining in later in 1974 in demining Southern approaches to Suez Canal. Both US Navy's Task Force 65 and Soviet force with a notable presence, among other ships and minesweepers, of the Helicopter Carrier Leningrad, used helicopters for minesweeping. 

But it was clear--the main force in clearing mines remained minesweepers. So, this guy from The Telegraph laments:

Sea mines are ubiquitous, lethal and ignored, all in equal measure. There hasn’t been a maritime conflict in the last 100 years where they haven’t been used, nor will there be in the next 100. If the purpose of navies is to command the sea, then their ability to defeat this cheap yet effective threat is a must. ... But their job is clearing mines, and there are only so many ways to do that. The US Navy has long clung to the idea that it can be done from helicopters, but that ran into the same problem that most air operations do – lack of persistence. Hunting mines using sonar is a slow business. If your chosen method for moving the sonar along in the sea is “non-persistent”, as when dangling it from a helicopter, you are not going to get much done. As for confirming that sonar blips are actually mines and destroying them, forget it.

Well, he has some point, but as is the case with any search and destroy operations--it is a slow process and must involve a complex approach in case of minesweeping. And here is the point, current state of the Royal Navy is not that of the global force, to put it mildly, and the only dedicated MCMs it has one venerable Sandown class MCM (HMS Bangor, M 109) and 6 downright ancient Hunt-class MCMs. How many of them are actually sea-worthy is unknown. 

So, what do British do? Well, they couldn't man this beautiful vessel (commercial, mind you) before transferring it to the Royal Navy, and designating it HMS Stirling Castle. 

They say she holds the promise for MCM operations. Well, RN is plagued with severe budget constrains and the whole situation with transferring this vessel to the navy and using it as MCM is ... well, make you own conclusions. 

Ah yes, the comparison is coming. Damn Russkies, Putin's "regime" was supposed to be gone by now and Russian economy be in tatters, but, quoting Forest Gump, for no particular reason at all(c) Russian Navy launches these state-of-the-art and largest composite hull vessels in the world, like there is no tomorrow. These are Alexandrit-class (project 12700) MCMs, 9 of which are already serving, while 31 more are being built or planned. 

Do not forget, though, Russian Navy still operates some other types of MCMs, including 2 active Gorya-class and then, there is a huge number (around 20) of active old pr. 1265 Base MCMs, and, of course, venerable and tough Akvamarins (pr. 266) MCMs--some 5 of them remain in service. 

But, of course, Alexandrits are now the backbone of Russian MCM fleet and their number only grows. You can dub this video (3 years old) which does review of these unique and powerful MCM ships. 

Fiber-glass hulls (vacuum-infusion), state-of-the-art electronics and yes, Russia will have around 40 of those with new modifications will follow for sure down the road. Ah yes, so unglamorous, yet indispensable force which no serious navy in the world can live without. And I can feel Royal Navy's pain (I really do--nobody is going to deny its glorious history), but transfer of the essentially commercial vessel to the Navy and hoping it can address an obvious shortage of the MCM forces is a first indicator of a bad shape Royal Navy finds itself in, which is merely yet another manifestation of the deep crisis which affected United Kingdom.