Ex-UK Minehunters Denied Access To Turkish Waters
Turkey has denied two former Royal Navy Minehunters, now part of the Ukrainian Navy, passage through their waters as the ships attempt to make their way to the Black Sea. The ships would violate a long-established pact concerning wartime passage through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits.
This development comes in the wake of last month’s announcement that 2 Sandown Class mine countermeasure vessels (MCMVs) would be sent to Ukraine to bolster their naval capabilities in the Black Sea. HMS Grimsby and HMS Shoreham were transferred to the Ukrainian Navy in July 2023 and are now the Chernihiv and Cherkasy.
In response to media suggestions that the Chernihiv and Cherkasy had already made passage through Turkish waters the Turkish Presidency’s communications office released a statement:
‘Our pertinent allies have been duly apprised that the mine-hunting ships donated to Ukraine by the United Kingdom will not be allowed to pass through the Turkish Straits to the Black Sea as long as the war continues’
The reason behind the British ships being unable to cross into the back sea from Ukraine stems from the 1936 Montreux Convention that came into effect on November 9, 1936. The convention regulates maritime traffic through the Turkish straights which grants freedom of passage in peacetime. Akara has the final say on the passage of Military vessels. While warships of non-belligerent nations can pass through the straights or if they are returning to their home bases those currently involved in a conflict may not. The convention acts to prevent Turkey being drawn into conflicts. In the past, the convention was used to block Soviet shipping passing through the straits during the Second World War. The United States has not signed the convention but does, however, adhere to its terms. A Russian cruiser and a destroyer have previously been rejected passage in late 2022 and had left the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.
It is still unclear if the ships will be granted access to Turkish waters, Overt Defense has reached out to the UK Ministry of Defence regarding the ongoing issue but has yet to receive a response. It had previously been reported that the vessels would only join Ukraine’s Black Sea flotilla after hostilities had ended, largely because of the difficulty of reaching thier new home base. The transfer of the vessels to the Ukrainian Navy had been agreed back in September 2021.