/ world today news/ Currently, Turkey and Romania are carrying out the most large-scale anti-mine activities in decades – and all this because Ukrainian sea mines have already been discovered even near the Bosphorus. In Turkey, they directly call the ongoing war crime and blame Kiev for it. How will the Black Sea be cleared of this most dangerous weapon and how did it end up so far from the shores of Ukraine?
On March 26, Turkey announced the appearance of the first floating mines in the Bosphorus area. Fishing boats were immediately prohibited from going out to sea at night to avoid detonating ships with mines. During the day, the Turkish Ministry of Defense confirmed that the discovered object was indeed a mine and that it had been neutralized.
The Bosphorus Strait is an important international route. It is important not only for all Black Sea countries, but above all for Turkey itself, so the closure of the strait was short-term (within three hours) for further exploration and removal of the mine.
Here it is necessary to note the professional actions of the Turkish Navy. A minesweeper group of two minesweepers (now increased to three) and a patrol vessel was quickly established.
In addition, they are provided with a patrol aircraft with a search radar, which, among other things, ensures the detection of floating small objects and the study of large areas of the water area in a short time. The search capabilities of the ships are much lower and it is obvious that they are already working on verification (exploration and destruction) of the mine-like targets detected by the aircraft.
In addition, Turkey proposed the use of pilot boats against the mines. “Merchant ships have very sensitive radars. These radars can detect even the smallest objects in the sea. In such cases the vessel shall immediately change course. One of my proposals is to place pilot boats on certain routes,” Zafer Akbulut, president of the Association of Turkish Long-Sea Vessel Captains, told the Turkish Hürriyet publication.
Modern ship radars provide detection of objects such as floating mines (which periodically appear above the wave crests). However, they, unlike aircraft, do this from a relatively short distance, so the guidance of large vessels in the strait, limited in maneuverability, by pilots is a very sensible measure.
The following is of particular interest here. The first notification of the discovery by the Department of Navigational Hydrography and Oceanography of the Turkish Navy was issued on March 22. That is, almost immediately after the statement on March 18 by the Russian Ministry of Defense about the placement by Ukraine of sea mines of the NM and KPM type with a charge of 15 and 40 kg (respectively in TNT equivalent) in the neighboring waters of the Black Sea.
Also on March 26, there were the first reports of mines breaking loose from their anchors and floating on the surface of the water. However, it is obvious that Ukraine started mining betting much earlier. Probably the reason for this is the first Ukrainian notice on February 25.
What was the reason for the appearance of Ukrainian mines all over the Black Sea? Of course, they were brought by the currents, but why did they break away from their places of placement off the coast of Odessa? During the period indicated, there were no significant storms for the mass separation of the mines from the anchors. Of course, there are statistical errors, there is corrosive wear and tear. However, the Ukrainian mines NM and KPM were under repair in 2020 (the work was carried out by the Technocluster company, which is part of the Cleaver corporation). At the same time, there are serious reasons to argue both about the low quality of this repair itself, and about the extremely low level of the corresponding special training of the Naval Forces of Ukraine.
Strictly speaking, the Turkish assessment of what is happening is as follows. Retired rear admiral Jihad Yaji said on Haber TV that it is a war crime to lay mines in the manner of Ukraine along the Black Sea coast. There is currently a serious danger of mines colliding with Turkish drilling rigs in the Black Sea. In addition, mines can threaten commercial, fishing and passenger boats that sail in the region.
Another Ukrainian surface mine was discovered on March 28 by the Romanian minesweeper Vice Admiral Constantin Bulesko 39 miles from Cape Midia. The mine was detonated from a boat by a group of sapper swimmers from the Romanian Navy.
What conclusions can be drawn from what is happening?
Stupid and illiterate mining of the Ukrainian fleet does not create particular problems for the actions of the Russian fleet (including during a hypothetical landing operation). However, for peaceful sailing, of course, all this brings danger (especially at night and in open sea conditions).
Given the technical problems with the Ukrainian Navy (and with open mines), it can be assumed that the percentage of mines dislodged from their anchors is significantly higher than commonly assumed. It is likely that the number of mines that have already gone “free floating” is significantly higher than assumed by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (“about a dozen mines”).
For their search, the most effective is the use of aircraft and helicopters of the patrol and anti-submarine aviation. They are able to detect floating objects from relatively long distances with their special radars and provide a reliable survey of the necessary areas of the Black Sea in a short period of time.
The subsequent additional survey of contacts and mine destruction can be done by ships and cutters (in fact, as the Turkish Navy already does). The Russian Navy has such assets, primarily the modernized Il-38N aircraft, which have significantly greater search capabilities than the patrol aircraft used by Turkey.
Thus, not only the Turkish Navy has increased the alarm. In addition to the traditional tasks of the fleet in the framework of the special operation in Ukraine, the Black Sea Fleet was faced with the task of providing anti-mine defense. And not only for their own safety, but also for the safety of dozens of civilian ships that are now closed in Ukrainian ports. As you know, for their safe access to the open sea, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the opening of humanitarian corridors. The Russian Navy has all the means to secure these corridors.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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