The Drifting Menace
.By Scott Savitz
Drifting mines have been found along the coasts of Turkey and Romania, as well as elsewhere in the Black Sea. Russia claims that they were anchored to the seabed but broke free of their cables due to bad weather. Ukraine insists that Russia deliberately released drifting mines.
Either way, in a confined body of water like the Black Sea, drifting mines can recirculate to pose an enduring threat to regional shipping. An Estonian cargo ship in the Black Sea has already been sunk by a mine during this war, though it’s unknown whether the mine was fixed or drifting. Moreover, this threat is not limited to the Black Sea: over the last several years, Yemen’s Houthi rebels periodically have released drifting mines into the Red Sea, one of the world’s most important maritime thoroughfares. Drifting mines have long been used in confined bodies of water. The first-ever naval mines were improvised drifting mines used by American rebels during their war of independence, targeting British ships in the Delaware River.
The use of these weapons is theoretically constrained by international law: the Hague Convention of 1907, which Russia signed, forbids the use of drifting mines unless they become harmless within an hour of release. It also requires that moored mines be designed so that they become harmless if they break free of their cables. If Russia has violated this treaty, it isn’t the only nation to do so: China has overtly manufactured drifting mines and composed legal guidance disregarding this part of the Hague Convention. Moreover, rebels and terrorist groups like the Houthis are under no such treaty restrictions.
https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2022/11/16/the_drifting_menace_865111.html
