The Romanian authorities have not yet been able to officially confirm that yesterday’s explosion in the sea near the beach of Costinesti was caused by a sea mine. And this in conditions where the sea coasts are the most crowded days of the year, when tens of thousands of people spend their St. Mary’s Day weekend at sea.

The sea mine is an ideal tool for hybrid warfare because of its lack of guarantees. You don’t know where it comes from, and the state that launched it can deny that it is guilty, and it is very difficult to prove otherwise, Sandu Valentín Mateu, Commander of the Romanian Navy Reserve, explains to HotNews.ro.

A military expert says that it cannot be ruled out that the mine that exploded yesterday in Kostinesti was part of such a hybrid attack by the Russians, given that the event happened around the same time that Russia illegally stopped with fire a commercial ship that arrived in Romania.

“It would be too random,” believes Sandu Valentyn Mateiu.

On the other hand, we are faced with a completely incomprehensible situation. After yesterday’s talk about the danger of sea mines being blown up the Romanian coast by “wind and rough seas”, the Ministry of National Defense was much more careful with the information at the end of the day.

In a show on Digi24 TV, the spokesman of the Naval Forces, Corneliu Pavel, said that he could not confirm the information about the mine explosion, because “EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) divers, who were searching together with the coast guard, did not find any elements in the sea area in front of the Kostineshti resort or drifting sea mines.”

Then, when asked what could have caused the explosion, which was seen by rescuers and people on the beach, Corneliu Pavel refused to speak.

For his part, when asked by HotNews.ro if he knew more information about the Costinești mine, the representative of the Coast Guard, Andrej Ene, replied that “the border police are not investigating this case regarding the object that caused the explosion.” explosion “.

What is certain is that at this moment we have witnesses who speak of an explosion about 100 meters from the shore, according to the head of rescue in Kostinesti, and even a person who complained that “her ears hurt because of the noise”.

Also, the press secretary of ISU Dobrudja, Ana-Maria Stoyka, confirmed that the intervention teams found traces of an explosion in the dam in front of the Forum hotel in Kostineshti.

The second sea mine, which was also reported by someone on 112 yesterday, turned out to be a log.

The commander of the Sandu reserve Valentyn Mateyu says that probably the remains of the mine that exploded have not been found yet, as pieces of metal probably fell to the bottom of the sea. And these days there are big waves on the Romanian coast, so even the divers sent to the place may not see them.

The Navy announced that it had dispatched an IAR Puma Naval minesweeper and helicopter to the maritime space between Constanta and Mangalia, which was searching for mines along with a US patrol aircraft.

Today, the Bulgarian military was also activated, announcing that they are on alert to “respond to signals about floating mines, to clear them.”

Actually, what are we looking for in the Black Sea?

Photo: Lga | Dreamstime.com

More than a year ago, on June 11, 2022, in Odesa, a 50-year-old Ukrainian went into the water and died instantly after touching a sea mine that exploded. In fact, the man got into one of the devices launched into the Black Sea, probably by both Ukrainians and Russians.

Last year, the spokesman of the military administration in Odesa said that the Russians released from 400 to 600 sea mines into the territorial waters of Ukraine. For their part, the Russians claim to have identified 370 mines released by the Ukrainians.

These devices are designed to detonate when the ship’s hull collides with them. Some mines are secured with steel cable to keep them underwater (and out of sight from the surface). However, during a storm, they can break up and be carried by ocean currents over very long distances.

A 1907 international treaty prohibits all countries from laying loose mines unless they can be controlled or are “designed to render them harmless not later than one hour after the person who laid them ceases to control them.”

But, as the commander of Sandu Valentyn Matei also said, it is very difficult to trace who released the relevant devices into the sea. All the more so in this situation, when it comes to mines, both Ukrainian and Russian, of Soviet production.

In fact, since last year, Black Sea states have announced that they have discovered sea mines drifting in their territorial waters. In March 2022, Romanians and Turks publicly stated that they had neutralized such devices of “unknown origin”.

Since the beginning of the war, specialized divers from Romania would have destroyed six such sea mines that were in our territorial waters.

Last month, Britain said it had information that “Russia has placed additional sea mines near Ukrainian ports” to disrupt the country’s grain trade.

However, there is currently little information on this topic.

And the avarice of the authorities in this regard can also lead to situations similar to the one when, when asked by a reporter if he is not afraid to enter the sea through the mines, a tourist from Koštineşt replies that “this information is magical to leave the world from our shores and go to others.”

• Read also: PHOTO/VIDEO Explosion in the area of ​​the pier in front of the hotel in Kostinesti, probably due to a sea mine. “The earth shook” / Measures announced by the authorities