Turkey resumes navigation on the Bosphorus after disarming a stray sea mine
Turkey resumed shipping traffic in the Bosphorus Strait today, Saturday, after suspending it for about four hours, after discovering an object that officials believe may be a stray sea mine.
And the Turkish Anatolia news agency quoted Defense Minister Hulusi Akar as saying that a team of divers defused an old sea mine that was floating in the Bosphorus Strait.
This came shortly after Russia issued a warning that several naval mines were being washed away from Ukrainian ports into the Black Sea.
The source of the mine was not immediately clear.
Akar said that Turkey is communicating with the Ukrainian and Russian sides in this regard, adding that the navy has been put on alert regarding this danger.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry said all kinds of evening fishing activities were banned in Turkish waters along the Black Sea in the southwest of the country, citing security reasons.
The ministry said in a tweet that sunset to sunrise fishing along the sea from Bulgaria to the northwestern Turkish coastline, including the entrance to the Bosphorus from the Black Sea, has been suspended until further notice.
Earlier in the day, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said that a team of divers had found an object resembling a mine floating north of Istanbul.
The ministry said in a tweet that the concerned authorities secured the body, and began work to neutralize it.
She added that a merchant ship was the first to spot the body.
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