Rimini Ship Identifies a Naval Mine in the Black Sea

23/07/14

The Rimini minesweeper, inserted in the device of the Second Naval Group of Countermeasures of NATO, discovered in the Black Sea a clearly visible mine on the bottom still next to the device used for the release and anchoring.

The discovery, exceptional for the absence of muddy bombing and for the still existing connection between it and the anchor, was in fact a rare event, also in consideration of the chemical-physical conditions of the Black Sea, significantly different from those of the Mediterranean Sea and such as to affect the propagation of sound in water and the performance of the search sonar.

Nave Rimini was engaged in the month of July in the operational research and identification of bombs deposited on the seabed. At the end of the multinational exercise Breeze 2014, organized by the Bulgarian navy, during the activities at sea of ​​the NATO group that preceded the stop in the port of Constanta (Romania), the unit - commanded by Lieutenant Claudia de Cesare - carried out a search and identification of mines laid during the Second World War in the waters off the coasts of Romania.

Due to its proximity to the coast and the access routes to the port and the areas affected by local fishing activities, the activity has taken on particular importance from an economic and safety point of view, allowing local authorities to locate devices which, although not recent, still constitute a real danger.

Research on minefields located in marine environments far from national coasts and the possibility of cooperating with allied navies represent a training opportunity for the crews of Italian military ships.

Opportunities that then benefit dual-use tasks such as:

search for wrecks, damaged aircraft, archaeological assets
mapping of the seabed
operations that contribute to the safety of navigation, such as local fishing activities for which remnants of war represent a serious danger.

Source: Military Navy