BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 7. The seventh
activation of the Mine Countermeasures (MCM) Black Sea Naval Group
began with an official ceremony at the port of Constanța, Romania,
Trend
reports.
The group will include the Bulgarian Navy’s base minesweeper
“Shkval”, commanded by Captain 3rd Rank Svetoslav Andonov, two
ships from the Romanian Navy, and one ship from the Turkish
Navy.
From October 6 to October 10, the “Shkval” will participate,
together with the other ships of the mine countermeasures group, in
the multinational exercise “POSEIDON 25.” The annual POSEIDON
series exercises are designed to improve operational
interoperability in mine countermeasure operations and are
organized alternately by the Romanian and Bulgarian navies.
This year’s edition, hosted by Romania, will involve personnel
and ships from thirteen partner countries—Romania, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, the United
Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, Sweden, and Turkey—as
well as two NATO entities: Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM) and the
Centre of Excellence in Mine Countermeasures.
At sea, the “Shkval” will conduct reconnaissance and
surveillance of drifting mines and mine-like objects, mine
countermeasure operations in designated areas, joint exercises,
enhancement of operational interoperability, and improvement of
maritime situational awareness.
The MCM Black Sea was established with the signing of a
memorandum between Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey in early 2024,
aimed at ensuring the safety of maritime traffic and countering the
threat posed by naval mines.