Türkiye has denied passage to British minesweepers heading to Ukraine

Turkish authorities announced on January 2 that they would not allow two British minesweepers to pass through Turkish territorial waters en route to the Black Sea for use by Ukraine, as this would be a violation of the international treaty on passage through the straits in wartime.

Türkiye blocked the strengthening of the Ukrainian Navy

Last month, Britain announced it would transfer two Royal Navy minesweepers to the Ukrainian Navy to help strengthen its naval operations in the war with Russia. NATO member Turkey has informed its allies that it will not allow these ships to cross the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits while the war in Ukraine continues, the presidential administration’s public affairs office said.

Treaty of Montreux

The message published by the Communications Directorate states: “Turkey immediately called Russia’s special military operation against Ukraine a “war” and closed the straits to warships of the warring parties (Russia and Ukraine), in accordance with Article 19 of the Montreux Straits Convention. Turkey, which has applied the Montreux Convention impartially and scrupulously since 1936, has maintained an unwavering determination and principled position throughout this war to prevent the escalation of tensions in the Black Sea. Our respective allies have been duly informed that the mine-hunting ships transferred by the UK to Ukraine will not be allowed to pass through the Bosporus Strait into the Black Sea as long as the war continues.”

Let us recall that in March 2022, Ankara closed the Dardanelles to NATO warships on the same grounds. “Strengthening the maritime capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces and, in particular, countering the threat from Russian sea mines will help restore Ukraine’s maritime exports”said the British Ministry of Defense

British ships return to their ports

Turkey shows that it is playing the “great game” as a “cunning neutral” by supplying Ukraine with weapons and refraining from Western sanctions against Russia, so that all the Russian billions that were still circulating freely, about $35 billion, are now “nesting” in Turkish banks, providing a valuable injection of liquidity.

We are talking about British Sandown-type minesweepers purchased by Ukraine in 2021, which were built in the early 90s of the last century. The fact that Ukraine will receive two British minesweepers became known in December amid the announcement of the creation of a Coalition of Maritime Forces and Weapons, which will be responsible for strengthening Ukraine’s naval capabilities.

The minesweepers have a length of 53 meters, a beam of 11 meters and a draft of 2.3 meters. A pair of diesel engines with +1523 hp each. accelerate the ship to 13 knots. There is also an electric motor for silent operation. The minesweepers are armed with a 30mm Mark44 Bushmaster II cannon, three six-barreled 7.62mm Minigun machine guns and a pair of general purpose machine guns.

The ships are also equipped with radars and mine detection systems, including a powerful sonar. During reconstruction, minesweepers were equipped with more modern systems for searching for mines.

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