Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria have started demining the Black Sea

On Monday, July 1, the three NATO countries began joint anti-mine operations in the Black Sea to increase the safety of shipping.

The joint operation of Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria is aimed at neutralizing mines drifting in the Black Sea as a result of the war, writes Bloomberg.

In particular, the tripartite initiative is aimed at protecting the Ukrainian maritime corridor, which became operational last year after Russia disrupted the Grain Agreement.

Back in January, NATO countries signed a memorandum of understanding in Istanbul on the creation of the Naval Group for Mine Countermeasures in the Black Sea (MCM Black Sea).

Read also: It will take up to five months to clear trade routes in the Black Sea.

There have already been cases in the Black Sea when vessels or ships came across mines. In July 2022, the small hydrographic vessel “Shlyahovyk” belonging to the state institution “Derzhhydrografia” blew up in the mouth of Bystre, which connects the Danube to the Black Sea.

A few days later, the pilot boat “Orlyk” was blown up by a mine, which sank as a result of this incident.

In September 2022, a ship of the Romanian Navy encountered a mine in the Black Sea.

Last year in October, a mine blew up a Turkish cargo ship. It happened near the mouth of the Danube, 11 nautical miles north of the city of Sulina, near the entrance to the Sulina estuary.

At the end of December 2023, the dry cargo Vyssos under the flag of Panama, which was on its way to the port of Izmail to load grain, came across a Russian mine in the mouth of Bystre.