Sea mine found on Turkey's Black Sea coast near Istanbul

ISTANBUL: A sea mine was discovered floating off Turkey's Black Sea coast northeast of Istanbul, state news agency Anadolu reported, saying the explosive device would be destroyed on Monday.

The device was found on Sunday off the coast of Agva, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the point where the Bosphorus Strait enters the Black Sea.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the warring sides have both deployed mines to protect their coastlines but they have often been displaced by storms.

Given the threat to both commercial and military shipping, NATO members Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania who border the sea, set up the Mine Countermeasures Naval Group (MCM Black Sea) to oversee de-mining operations.

It began working on July 1.

Romania's defence ministry said this month that a total of 107 floating mines had been found and destroyed since the war broke out.

Last month Turkish vice-admiral Mustafa Kaya told reporters more than 400 mines had recently been planted in the Black Sea, some of which had come adrift.