Sailors from the Romanian Navy salute their flag during exercise Sea Breeze 2019 in Odesa, Ukraine, Romanian Navy Photo ODESA, Ukraine (July 8, 2019) Sailors from the Romanian Navy participate in exercise Sea Breeze 2019 in Odesa, Ukraine, July 2-8, 2019. Sea Breeze is a U.S. and Ukraine co-hosted multinational maritime exercise held in the Black Sea and is designed to enhance interoperability of participating nations and strengthen maritime security and peace within the region. (Photo courtesy of Romanian Navy/Released)
by Luiza Ilie (Reuters) A Romanian Navy dredger hit a drifting mine it was trying to defuse in bad weather on Thursday, but the crew of 75 were unharmed by the explosion, the defense ministry said.
Mines began floating in the Black Sea after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, and Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish military diving teams have been defusing those drifting in their waters.
The ministry said the ship was alerted about a mine drifting about 25 nautical miles northeast from the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta, but couldn’t defuse it because of high winds and waves.
“There are no victims or injured following the explosion, the 75 troops on the ship are not in danger, the ship’s buoyancy is not affected and there is no major damage on board,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Black Sea is crucial for shipment of grain, oil, and oil products. Its waters are shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia, and Turkey, as well as Ukraine and Russia.
Since the war started, Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine have destroyed 28 mines in the western waters of the Black Sea, the ministry said.
(Reporting by Luiza Ilie; Editing by Grant McCool)
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