ISTANBUL
A sea mine was discovered floating off Black Sea coast in Istanbul’s northern district of Şile, with teams set to destroy the explosive device on Dec. 23.
The device was found on Dec. 22 off the coast of Ağva, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of the point where the Bosphorus Strait enters the Black Sea.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the warring sides have both deployed mines to protect their coastlines, but they have often been displaced by storms.
Given the threat to both commercial and military shipping, NATO members Türkiye, Bulgaria and Romania who border the sea, set up the Mine Countermeasures Naval Group (MCM Black Sea) to oversee de-mining operations.
It began working on July 1.
Romania’s defense ministry said this month that a total of 107 floating mines had been found and destroyed since the war broke out.
Last month Turkish vice-admiral Mustafa Kaya told reporters more than 400 mines had recently been planted in the Black Sea, some of which had come adrift.
