Fifteen naval mines defused during intl operation in Baltic Sea

  • 2023-05-25
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – Fifteen naval mines were destroyed during the two-week multi-national unexploded ammunition hunting and sweeping operation Open Spirit 23, which was wrapped up on Thursday, the Lithuanian Navy said. 

The Navy's mine countermeasures ship inspected more than 100 underwater contacts, finding six naval mines from World War I and World War II, it said in a press release.

The ship also found more than 20 mine anchors.

NATO's mine countermeasures vessels found and defused a total of 50 naval mines during the operation, which also involved the Navy's deminers.

The demining operation is part of the Baltic countries' continuous efforts to clear their Baltic seafloor territory off naval mines and other unexploded ordnance left over from the two world wars and the post-war period.

This year, it was held in Latvia's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.