site.btaBulgarian Seamen Destroy Naval Mine

During a training voyage, a Bulgarian Navy patrol boat spotted a mine-like object 2 nautical miles east of the Pasha Dere locality (south of Varna), the Navy Headquarters reported on Tuesday. After the report was received, the mine hunter Struma was activated by the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov, to reconnoiter the object. 

On site, the seamen identified the object as a KPM-type oval-shaped moored mine with four horns. The mine was tugged to a safe location inside the sea and was destroyed by the crew of the Struma by a controlled explosion, strictly observing safety measures.

The Bulgarian Navy continues to maintain counter-mine readiness in order to ensure safe shipping in Bulgarian maritime space, the Headquarters added.

Rear Admiral Mihaylov told journalists on May 6 that since the beginning of the war against Ukraine the Navy has been periodically scrutinizing all commercial shipping fairways and responds to all reports of spotted mine-like objects. "More than 50 such reports have been received so far. The most recent one was less than two months ago, when we destroyed the fifth floating mine in a row," Mihaylov pointed out. He specified that a total of 16 floating mines have been destroyed in the Black Sea so far: five each by Bulgaria, Romania and Turkiye, and one has exploded off the coast of Georgia.