NATO ships begin minesweeping in Black Sea waters – report
A joint minesweeping task force from the Bulgarian and Romanian navies has begun operating in the Black Sea along Ukraine’s recently established commercial shipping lane, Andriy Klymenko, head of the Institute for Strategic Black Sea Studies and Editor-in-Chief of BlackSeaNews, said in a Facebook post on Oct. 19.
“Our Black Sea neighbors weer surprisingly quick in moving from making the decision to commencing actual minesweeping operations,” said Klymenko.
Read also: Russia looking to target civilian ships in the Black Sea, says British intelligence
The decision to begin this operation was made on Oct. 12 during a Ramstein format meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, with the ships setting sail on Oct. 16.
The operation’s scope extends beyond Bulgarian territorial waters, operating in the adjacent area where the new Ukrainian shipping lane through, Klymenko added.
Read also: UNDP trials innovative technologies that could rid Ukraine of landmines in 10 years
BlackSeaNews and the Institute of Black Sea Strategic Studies have identified five out of the seven ships in the task force:
· Minehunter Tsibar – Bulgarian Navy
· Frigate Drazki – Bulgarian Navy
· Patrol vessel Hrabri – Bulgarian Navy
· Frigate Verni – Bulgarian Navy
· Minehunter Alexandru Axente – Romanian Navy
Previously, Bloomberg reported that Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria were in discussions regarding the creation of joint forces to clear the Black Sea of naval mines that had drifted into their waters due to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The decision for this “three-party initiative” was reached during a meeting of NATO defense ministers at the Alliance’s headquarters on Oct. 12.
Read also: Third cargo ship hits mine in Black Sea in one month – Sky News
Over the past month, several incidents were reported in which civilian ships encountered naval mines in the Black Sea.
As of Sept. 16, 32 cargo ships have entered Ukrainian seaports through the new shipping lane, according to Bloomberg.
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