The Turkish Naval Forces Command has ramped up precautionary efforts to find and defuse any stray sea mines, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said.
According to the statement shared along with related footage, maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters, drones and patrol vessels have been deployed to defuse any drifting mines.
Coastal minehunters are undertaking a big role in efforts to find and defuse any possible sea mines while personnel from the Turkish military’s Underwater Defense (SAS) branch are tasked with the disposal afterward.
If a mine is detected, SAS commandos swim underwater to defuse it after securing the perimeter, Daily Sabah reported.
Recently, Turkish forces defused a stray naval mine floating in the Bosporus, in an incident that came days after Russia issued warnings on stray mines floating in the Black Sea. Defense Minister Hulusi Akar described the object, first discovered by fishermen in the northern Bosporus, as an old type of mine and said that he was in touch with both Russian and Ukrainian authorities about it.
The Bosporus was briefly closed due to the suspected mine risk last Saturday. Several vessels, including oil tankers and cargo ships, had to remain on hold at both entrances during that time, according to the Directorate of Coastal Safety.
Meanwhile, the agriculture minister said that “all kinds of fishing activities” had been banned at night in Turkish waters in the southwest of the Black Sea, citing security reasons. Fishing “from sunset to sunrise” along the sea from Bulgaria to the northwestern Turkish coastline, including the Bosporus’ Black Sea entrance, is suspended until further notice, it said on Twitter.
