A naval mine has been discovered on the Black Sea coast in Romania's Constanta county, prompting an immediate response from local authorities and military specialists.
Operative Information Center-OMM reports that the Romanian Ministry of Defense issued a statement regarding the incident. According to the ministry, the object was spotted on a beach facing the Midia firing range.
“Today, at 10:05 local time, military personnel from the Midia firing range discovered a naval mine that had washed ashore on the beach in front of the range. The area has been cordoned off with the support of the Constanta County Police Inspectorate,” the official statement said. Relevant structures within the Ministry of Defense were promptly notified, and a team of underwater demining specialists from the 39th Diving-Engineering Center is currently working to neutralize the threat.
The presence of drifting mines in the Black Sea has become a significant regional security concern following the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine. In March 2022, reports indicated that hundreds of mines had been deployed near key ports such as Odesa, Ochakiv, Chornomorsk, and Yuzhny. Experts warned that storm currents could detach these mines, allowing them to drift toward the Bosphorus Strait and potentially into the Mediterranean basin.
In response to the ongoing maritime threat, Azerbaijan's regional partners—Bulgaria, Romania, and Türkiye—signed an agreement in January 2024 to establish a joint mine-clearing task force. This trilateral initiative aims to ensure the safety of international shipping lanes and protect coastal infrastructure from stray naval explosives in the Black Sea region.
