Turkey reopens Bosphorus traffic after old mine is neutralized

Turkey has reopened the Bosphorus, or Istanbul Strait, to ships after closing it briefly because of a suspected mine. Hulusi Akar, Turkish Minister of National Defense, said that underwater security teams examined the object and found that it was an old mine. A coordinated effort between the Turkish Coast Guard and Naval Forces enabled the safe reopening of maritime traffic, he announced.

The Coastal Safety Directorate General announced earlier in the day that two-way ship traffic had been suspended following the detection of mine-like objects from a civilian commercial vessel. Akar commented on rumors that underwater mines laid by Ukraine to deter Russian attacks in the ongoing war might drift across the Black Sea. He said that both the Russian and Ukrainian sides had been notified and that all aspects were being coordinated.