The Turkish Naval Forces Command has ramped up precautionary efforts to find and defuse any stray sea mines amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Ministry of National Defense said on Sunday.
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.
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 amid its war with Ukraine.
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, a key trade channel connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, 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. An average of more than 40,000 ships cross the 33-kilometer (21-mile) strait every year, according to the directorate.
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.
Turkey shares the Black Sea borders with Russia and Ukraine, which Moscow invaded last month.
Russia's main intelligence agency said on Monday that several mines had drifted out to sea after breaking off from cables near Ukrainian ports, a claim dismissed by Kyiv as disinformation and an attempt to close off parts of the sea.
The Black Sea is a major shipping artery for grain, oil and oil products. It is connected to the Marmara and then the Mediterranean Sea via the Bosporus, which runs through the heart of Istanbul – Turkey's largest city with 16 million residents – and then the Dardanelles further southwest.
Asked about the possible risk of mines reaching Turkish waters, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan this week said necessary measures were being taken.
Earlier this month, Ankara restricted access to the straits for all warships apart from those registered in Black Sea ports in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Under the 1936 Montreux Convention, Turkey has control over the Turkish Straits connecting the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. While trade ships may pass the strait freely in peacetime, battleships face certain restrictions.