A marine mine was discovered by a fisherman, and a military ship of the Romanian Naval Forces went on a mission to investigate the situation off the Black Sea, about 70 kilometers from Cape Midia.
The minesweeper and nets “Vice Admiral Constantin Bălescu”, with a group of demining divers on board (EOD – Explosive Ordnance Disposal), were sent today, March 28, on research and intervention mission in a maritime district located at a distance of approximately 39 nautical miles (70-72 km), off the Black Sea, across from Capu Midia, where a drifting sea mine was reported, the Ministry of National Defense announced.
The mine was destroyed after a six-hour operation. The minesweeper had a crew of divers specially trained for such missions, and they managed to neutralize the mine.
The mine was observed, this morning, by the Romanian fisherman “Olimpus 1”, whose commander informed the Romanian authorities, on the official channels, around 08.10.
Turkey has also discovered another naval mine in the Black Sea off the coast of Igneada, near the border with Bulgaria, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced on Monday. This is another one after a similar discovery on Saturday that led to the suspension of traffic in the Bosphorus Strait for almost four hours. Then a fisherman announced that he had noticed a mine near the entrance to the Bosphorus, north of Istanbul, according to foreign news agencies. Turkish authorities have then banned overnight fishing off the northwest coast of the country indefinitely.
It is unclear at this time if the mines have something to do with the war from Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of placing naval mines in the Black Sea.