NATO Shipping Centre and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) have advised that vessels should avoid entering or approaching the Sea of Azov, Ukrainian ports, or Ukrainian territorial waters in the northwestern Black Sea. Further, there is a risk of collateral damage in the northwestern, western, and southwestern Black Sea from the threat of drifting mines.

Since late February, there have been reports of naval mines in the water near Odesa, Ukraine. Media reports and Turkish government statements indicate that Turkish and Romanian authorities have neutralized potentially explosive mines drifting across the Black Sea.