Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group will be activated under Bulgarian command

The Bulgarian Navy is hosting the latest activation of the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Task Group. The group consists of military ships from Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey.

Bulgaria is participating with the mine countermeasure ship "Struma" and the command ship "Capt. 1st Rank Dimitar Dobrev," where the staff will be stationed. This was announced during the official ceremony for the ceremonial send-off of the group commander, Captain 1st Rank Pavlin Petkov.

Photos: Nadezhda Sutreva, BNT

Until April 16, the group will conduct surveillance of maritime areas in the sailing region. Tomorrow, the ships will set sail towards the Port of Constanta, where they will participate in the Romanian Navy exercise "Sea Shield." After that, they will carry out tasks related to the neutralisation of mines using various methods. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, our Navy has detected and neutralised six floating mines, with a total of 19 mines destroyed in the Black Sea, recalled the Commander of the Bulgarian Navy, Rear Admiral Kiril Mihaylov.

He added that the construction of two multifunctional patrol ships is ongoing. The first one, the frigate "Hrabi," is in the process of being completed, while the main gun has already been installed on the frigate "Smeli." Regarding the budget of the Navy, Rear Admiral Mihaylov stated that, unfortunately, a large portion of the planned capital expenditures will not be able to be realised, which will significantly limit opportunities for smaller projects and the initiation of others initially planned for this year.

He also mentioned that he hopes that the repair of the Naval Base will start, as all procedures have now been completed. The project includes dredging of the base’s waters, infrastructure repairs, quay walls, and communication systems.