The Poseidon 2026 mine countermeasures exercise opened in Varna on 8 November. Ships from the Black Sea mine countermeasures group are joining the Bulgarian-Romanian drills as part of the group’s latest activation.
Bulgaria is contributing the support ship Captain First Rank Dimitar Dobrev and the minehunter Struma to the group. Romania’s Captain Constantin Dumitrescu and Türkiye’s Akçay are also taking part. The group’s activation and the exercise overlap, with ships from the group joining the drills.
Mine countermeasures require crews to locate and identify underwater objects before they can assess what action is needed. Joint drills give ships from different navies a chance to practise sharing information and coordinating their work in the same area.
