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On March 26, the Anadolu agency reported citing the Turkish Defense Ministry that an object similar to a mine was detected in the Bosphorus Strait. The movement of ships through the Bosphorus Strait has been suspended in both directions after a civilian commercial vessel detected a mine-like object.
Turkish underwater security teams examined the object and found it to be an old mine and neutralized it, said National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. It was neutralized by the Turkish specialists.
Maritime traffic has safely been opened after coordination with the Turkish Coast Guard and Naval Forces.
“The necessary measures have been taken. Movement (through the Bosphorus Strait) is safe,” Akar added.
Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that at least a dozen Ukrainian mines, which were installed near Odessa, were torn off by the current and drifted in the Black Sea in the direction of the Bosphorus.
Commenting on reports that underwater mines laid by Ukraine to deter Russian attacks were drifting across the Black Sea, Akar said both the Russian and Ukrainian sides had been notified and that coordination is ongoing.
