UK to Transfer Two Minehunters to Ukraine
, as it sets up a new maritime defence coalition alongside Norway to help strengthen Ukraine's sea operations.Britain said the two Sandown Class mine countermeasures vessels will enable Ukraine to better counter the threat from Russian sea mines, aiming to restore Ukraine's export routes via the Black Sea.The transfer of the vessels was announced alongside the launch of the Maritime Capability Coalition set up by Britain and Norway to improve Ukraine's navy to make it more compatible with western allies and increase security in the Black Sea."This capability boost marks the beginning of
Turkey to Work with Romania, Bulgaria Against Black Sea Mines
Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria will work together against the threat of floating mines in the Black Sea due to war between Russia and Ukraine, the Turkish Defence Ministry said on Wednesday.The ministry gave no details of how it would address the floating mine problem. It said on social media platform X that the three countries had discussed the issue at the NATO Defense Ministers meeting in Brussels.Last week, the British government said Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea, including by laying them on the approach to Ukrainian ports. Ukraine and Russia have accused
U.S. Revives Cold War Submarine Spy Program to Counter China
last year. The new name is “more fitting of the expansive coverage of our mission,” Jon Nelson, commanding officer at the Whidbey Island unit, said at a name-changing ceremony in October 2022.China’s rise as a naval rival, and Ukraine’s effective harassment of Russia's Black Sea fleet with drones, have renewed the U.S. military’s focus on ocean surveillance in a fast-changing maritime environment, according to Phillip Sawyer, a retired U.S. Navy vice admiral and former head of the submarine forces in the Pacific.“It has given us a sense of urgency that perhaps
TDI-Brooks Completes Phase Four of Deepwater Geotechnical Project in Black Sea
TDI-Brooks said Thursday it had completed phase four of a deepwater geotechnical coring and CPT project for DenAr Ocean Engineering S.A. TDI-Brooks used its Jumbo Piston Cores (JPC) and CPT Stinger geotechnical tools and operators to the ongoing project off Turkey in the Black Sea.The PROTEUS is outfitted with TDI-Brooks’ complete geotechnical tool kit, including a suite of innovative geotechnical tools for soil sampling and CPT measurement. The PROTEUS also has a Kongsberg EM-710 (1×1) hull-mounted multibeam (MBES) for surveys to ~2,500m water depth for performing surface geochemical
Romania Deploys Vessel, Helicopter to Find Stray Black Sea Mines
Romania's navy said it deployed a ship and a helicopter on Monday to scout for stray mines on the country's Black Sea coast, after a pier in the seaside resort of Costinesti was damaged in an explosion.Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, and mines have since then been laid in the Black Sea by the combatants. Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish military diving teams have been defusing those that have drifted into their waters.The sea is crucial for shipments of grain, oil and oil products and is shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey, as well as Ukraine and Russia.Romania's navy
Tenaris to Supply 46,000 Tons of Pipe for Turkey's Giant Offshore Gas Field
Steel pipe supplier Tenaris will supply pipes and services for phase II-A of the Sakarya offshore gas field development in the Black Sea, offshore Turkey.The offshore gas field is operated by Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) and located in the ultra-deep waters of the western Black Sea, approximately 175km offshore Eregli, Turkey.“In a challenging environment, Tenaris successfully managed the delivery of 65,000 tons of pipes and services for the first phase of the Sakarya project," said Andrea Previtali, Tenaris Vice President Line Pipe and Process.Previtali said that the positive experience
Plastic Pollution Threatens Birds Far Out at Sea
and where seabirds are most at risk of encountering plastic pollution at sea.We found that many species spend a lot of time in areas of the ocean with high concentrations of plastic. Plastic exposure risk was highest in enclosed seas where plastic can become trapped, such as the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. These regions accounted for over half of the global plastic exposure risk for petrels, potentially affecting all four of the species studied that forage there.But many other petrel species are at risk of encountering plastic in remote parts of the ocean, including the north-west and north-east
USV Projects Awarded Funding Under US Dept of Defense Accelerator Program
technologies to the warfighter. In FY22 $100 million was appropriated for APFIT, resulting in ten DoD programs each receiving $10 million to expedite their production and fielding.Maritime Applied Physics Corp. was awarded $10 million for USV Range Extension using Beyond-Line-of-Sight Communications, and BlackSea was awarded $10 million to accelerate initial low rate procurement of USVs and supporting communication systems to enable beyond-line-of-site operations.APFIT funding is helping to deliver war-winning capability 1-2 years earlier than scheduled, while contributing to the health of the US Industrial
In the Navy:The Role of Advanced Sea Mines in Future Conflicts
effects. Although highly destructive, they can also be highly disruptive; the mere presence of mines can impede merchant shipping, rattle global markets, or grind naval operations to a halt. And they don’t have to be advanced to generate far-reaching effects, as we’ve seen recently in the Black Sea, where unsophisticated, Soviet-era contact mines have threatened grain shipments, and may have staved off a Russian amphibious assault on Odessa.Estimates of sea mine stockpiles vary, but Russia is thought to possess as many as a quarter million, with eighty thousand for China, fifty thousand for
February 2024
