Turkish fishermen guard drillships against naval mines in Black Sea
By Saliha Engin
Turkish fishermen are guarding drillships against floating naval mines laid around Ukrainian ports, Yeni Shafak newspaper reports.
While the Turkish armed forces and Coast Guard continue to defend the country's rights and interests in the Blue Homeland, Turkish fishermen are clearing mines off the coast of Filyos in the Black Sea, where natural gas operations are underway.
The concept of "army-nation" manifested itself this time in the Blue Homeland, which surrounds Turkiye on three sides. Turkish fishermen are supporting the Turkish armed forces and Coast Guard Command, which continue their uninterrupted Blue Homeland watch in the Aegean, Black and Mediterranean seas.
Fishermen are keeping an eye on Zonguldak Filyos, where natural gas drilling is taking place in the Black Sea. Fishermen, who used to fish in the area are now on the lookout for mines. They have been on guard for months to prevent mines laid in Ukrainian ports from hitting ships at the drilling and seismic research site in Filyos.
Captain Yavuz Hendem, one of the fishermen, said that they also took on the task in addition to the measures taken by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) in the region.
“We began our duties on April 11, 2022, with the assignment of TPAO. We started with four boats and now have two boats searching the sea for 24 hours. Prior to this date, three mines were discovered by fishermen in the Black Sea; however, no mines were discovered in the vicinity after April,” Hendem said.
Stating that Turkiye has the best technological fishing fleet in the world, Hendem added: “Our boats are very high in terms of equipment and device usage. We have good radar systems, so we're on watch."
The Aegean Sea is Turkish fishermen's second watch region. The Turkish flag is also flying in international waters, where Greece has illegal claims. Nets laid in international waters for hunting often draw borders for Greece.
Fishermen are also subjected to armed harassment by the Greek coast guards from time to time.
“We are fishing close to the Greek islands. My boat was shot down by the Greeks in these waters last year. They have been trying to cause tension due to political developments lately. I think they will harass us more this year. Here we warn our fishermen. We say, 'Let's be careful, let's not trigger a war,'" Mehmet Aksoy, an Izmir fisherman, said.
Aksoy emphasized that they will continue to protect Turkish territorial waters against all dangers.
“If we didn't fish here, the Greeks would have actually taken over the Aegean. Our Navy protects our waters and we exercise our rights. We are the guardians of this sea; it makes us proud to fly the Turkish flag in these waters. We try not to jeopardize our security while keeping the Blue Homeland watch as much as we can. We go to our own waters with pride. We will continue to keep the Blue Homeland vigil,” he stressed.
Both Kyiv and Moscow have accused one another of mines dropped in the Black Sea. The scope of the mining activities is unknown, but according to Sergey Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Odesa regional military administration, Russia threw between 400 and 600 mines into Ukraine's maritime zone.
Some sea mines are intended to detonate when they come into contact with the hull of a vessel, while others are tethered to a steel cable to keep them submerged. They can, however, become dislodged in storms and float for vast distances by water currents.
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