Due to the war in Ukraine, sea mines are drifting through the Black Sea. After several dangerous incidents, three residents have agreed that a task force should take care of safety.
Just a few days ago, Turkish fishermen made an unusual catch: this time there were no fish wriggling in their net, but rather they pulled a highly explosive sea mine on board. The fishermen immediately reported their dangerous discovery to the Turkish coast guard. According to local media reports, the nearby port of Eregli was temporarily closed. A special team from Istanbul set out and was able to defuse the mine shortly afterwards.
Such sea mines repeatedly cause problems in the Black Sea. Due to the war in Ukraine, numerous explosive devices are floating around uncontrolled. How many of these “ghost mines” there are and where exactly they come from is unclear. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for this.
Closure of the Bosphorus
Things don’t always go as smoothly as for the Turkish fishermen off Eregli: at the end of December there was an explosion on a grain freighter off the Ukrainian-Romanian coast. The captain then apparently deliberately set the badly damaged ship aground to prevent it from sinking. Two of the 18 crew members were slightly injured. The Ukrainian military blamed the incident on an “enemy sea mine.”
In March 2022, the Bosphorus – one of the most important shipping routes in the world – had to be temporarily closed due to a sea mine. Shortly afterwards, the Turkish government reacted and launched an “anti-mine operation”: Since then, Turkey has been searching for floating mines in the Black Sea using aircraft, ships and radar systems.
Task force against sea mines
A new agreement with Romania and Bulgaria is intended to improve and expand the fight against mines. After months of negotiations, the defense ministers of the three NATO countries signed an agreement in Istanbul. A statement said:
The Hague Treaty prohibits the use of sea mines that, for any reason, become detached from their mooring devices and do not become harmless on their own after one hour.
At the same time, the ministers make it clear: the establishment of the task force is not directed against a specific state, but rather serves solely for defense.
More common Naval Committee
The three countries have now specifically agreed on closer cooperation. Accordingly, each country should provide a mine countermeasure ship and a command ship that carry out regular patrols. In addition, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria want to hold more joint exercises and training courses. A joint naval committee is to monitor the activities. The chairmanship of the initiative should rotate between the countries every six months.
The three NATO states hope to make the Black Sea safer again – and prevent further dangerous incidents.
Thomas Bormann, ARD Istanbul, tagesschau, January 11, 2024 4:47 p.m