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Fishermen discovered an unmanned sea drone off the coast of Artvin's Hopa district on Tuesday morning, the second such device found in Turkish Black Sea waters in a week, prompting authorities to dispatch naval commandos who destroyed the device in a controlled manner.
Fishermen on a boat spotted an object on the sea surface off Hopa in the morning hours and reported it to the Hopa Coast Guard Command.
A Coast Guard boat was dispatched to the area following the report.
Upon examination by teams, the object was determined to be a kamikaze-type unmanned sea vessel.
Teams established a security perimeter around the area at sea.
According to initial assessments, the unmanned sea drone is the same model as the one found off Trabzon's Carsibasi district on September 30.
Artvin Governor Turan Ergun made a statement to journalists on the issue regarding the Kemalpasa district coast. Noting that the same unmanned sea drone encountered off Trabzon last week was detected off Hopa today, Ergun said he estimates it could be an unmanned sea drone originating from the Russia-Ukraine war.
"We estimate it could be an unmanned sea drone originating from the Russia-Ukraine war," Ergun said.
Ergun stated that the Coast Guard Command has taken necessary security measures.
"A team consisting of SAS commandos attached to Naval Forces came from Istanbul to Trabzon," Ergun said, adding, "They will come here, examine and destroy it."
Explaining that if the team reaches the scene before dark, the disposal operation will take place today; otherwise, tomorrow, Ergun said they will evaluate the sea drone as if it contains explosive material and destroy it on site.
"We evaluate it as if there is explosive material in the sea drone and destroy it there," Ergun said, adding, "The general technique is like that."
The governor reiterated that security measures have been taken in the area, noting that Coast Guard teams established a security line around the object, entry and exit within 3.5 miles has been prohibited and fishermen are not being allowed to approach the area.
Noting that similar objects can be seen from time to time in different regions of the Black Sea, Ergun made the following assessment:
"Not only on our coasts but also in the Western Black Sea. Similar situations can occur in every region of the Central and Eastern Black Sea," Ergun said.
"When they encounter such an object, especially fishermen who go to sea first in the morning hours may encounter them more. We ask them to immediately inform our Coast Guard or 112 without approaching or touching," he added.
The Governorship of Trabzon announced that the unmanned sea drone found off the coast of Trabzon was destroyed in a controlled manner.
"The unmanned sea drone found off Trabzon in the morning hours today was destroyed in a controlled manner by SAS teams at its location as of 4:45 p.m.," the governorship statement said.
The explosion sound during the destruction of the unmanned sea drone was heard from many points in Ortahisar district.
On Sept. 30, a Ukrainian-origin unmanned sea drone noticed by a fishing boat off Carsibasi district was brought to Yoroz Port and destroyed by military personnel in a controlled manner offshore.
Such threats in the region are not being experienced for the first time. On Feb. 21, 2024, following suspicion of a bomb on an overturned boat found off Akcaabat, the Coast Guard intervened and SAS commandos destroyed the suspicious object with detonators by diving.
On Tuesday, fishermen who encountered an unmanned sea drone similar to the unmanned sea drone found off Trabzon's Carsibasi district last week, off Artvin's Hopa district, informed authorities. Mines, unmanned vehicles and explosive-laden objects used in the Russia-Ukraine war can drift to regional coasts with waves.
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