Press Information

With reference to the situation of the commercial vessel Seama, under Togo’s flag, which reported an explosion onboard in the morning of September 20, at around 6:50, the leadership of the Naval Forces Staff decided, according to the operational procedures in force, to send to the Sulina maritime district the 274 "Vice Admiral Constantin Bãlescu" Minesweeper, with a group of EOD divers onboard, to act in support of the civilian authorities responsible to intervene and investigate the district. The military ship left Constanța Military Port around 08:15.

Also, a Romanian Air Force IAR-330 Puma Helicopter of the search & rescue service, is ready to intervene from the 57 Mihail Kogãlniceanu Air Base, upon request.

The activity plans and operational procedures of the Romanian Naval Forces were quickly adapted to the current security situation, once with the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, in order to effectively respond to a various environment of threats posed to the maritime space, thus contributing to ensuring the collective security of the North Atlantic Alliance.

The Romanian Naval Forces constantly conduct monitoring missions in the Black Sea, with military ships, IAR-330 Puma Naval Helicopters, maritime reconnaissance drones and EOD combat diver detachments (specialized in the fight against explosive ordnance devices) as well as through the Mine Combat Data Center, which is subordinated to the Maritime Hydrographic Directorate.

The Press Office