A new stray naval mine was found in the Black Sea, Turkey's Ministry of National Defense announced on Monday, just two days after the sighting of another mine and amid concerns about the spillover effects of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The ministry said in a statement that elite Underwater Defense (SAS) teams were dispatched to the area where the mine was found off the coast of Iğneada, a district in the northwestern province of Kırklareli near the border with Bulgaria. The statement said a security perimeter was established in the area and that the mine was defused.
Local fisherman Çağrı Martin was the first to spot the mine. He was aboard his fishing boat with his crew when he saw the mine. "We were just about 200 meters (656 feet) away from it when we noticed the object. We were about to cast a net in the area and immediately pulled the net back and returned to the coast," he told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Monday. Martin and others alerted authorities via their radio. Soon, coast guard crews were deployed to the area and all civilian maritime traffic was stopped. The mine was about 7 miles (11 kilometers) away from İğneada lighthouse.
On Saturday, another stray naval mine was found in the northern Bosporus, southeast of the area where the naval mine was found on Monday. The mine was defused by security forces.
Earlier this month, Turkey advised ships to keep a “sharp lookout” and report any possible mines that had drifted from Ukrainian ports, shortly after warnings from Russia of mines floating in the Black Sea as the war between Ukraine and Russia intensified.
Turkish authorities had assured the public all measures were taken against the possibility of mines drifting to Turkish water. Over the weekend, a temporary fishing ban was implemented along the southwestern coast of the Black Sea.
Ankara keeps an eye on maritime activities in its territorial waters in light of the ongoing war and restricted access for Russian warships to its waterways.
Naval mines are expected to deal a blow to Turkish fishermen on the Black Sea coast but the damage to the sector may be limited as a traditional annual fishing ban is scheduled to be imposed in April anyway. On Monday, heavy fog further diminished prospects of regular fishing, which is currently banned only at nighttime. Mehmet Kasap, a fisherman, was among those who sailed across Istanbul's Black Sea coast in the early hours, only to return to port under dense fog. "We are four people aboard and are always looking out at sea. We are more alert than ever so as we will not come across something," he said, referring to the mines. Mines are not an uncommon sight for Kasap who said he witnessed six fellow fishermen's deaths in 1989 when a World War II mine tangled in their net exploded.
