Mines in the Strait of Hormuz: How dangerous are they?
Iran says it has placed mines in the Straight of Hormuz to discourage independent traffic. How dangerous are naval mines, and what can be done
Iran says it has placed mines in the Straight of Hormuz to discourage independent traffic. How dangerous are naval mines, and what can be done to clear them? Numerous heads of state and government welcomed a proposed peace agreement between the United States and Iran. Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy raised the prospect of lifting sanctions against Iran, emphasizing the urgency of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. In a joint statement, the four countries said they were "committed to playing our part [...] — including through a strictly defensive and independent mission to reassure commercial shipping and conduct mine clearance operations." A danger to merchant ships But even if the Strait of Hormuz is reopened to shipping, the Persian Gulf and the surrounding region will remain a danger zone for merchant ships. In early April, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said Tehran had deployed mines in the Strait. "We aren't even certain that there are mines [in the Strait of Hormuz]," said Johannes Peters, and expert on undersea warfare at the Kiel University's Institute for Security Policy. "But the underlying threat is enough [to deter passage]. For now, nobody in the war zone can actually go and check." Iran's sudden Hormuz reversal: What it signals now To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video How do sea mines work? Naval mines are relatively inexpensive underwater explosive devices designed to explode when triggered by nearby vessels. There are three main kinds, based on their placement Drifting mines that float freely at or near the water surface Moored mines that float beneath the water surface and are attached to the seafloor Bottom mines that rest on the seafloor. Throughout World War II, moored mines featuring switch horns that triggered an explosion upon physical contact with a ship were the standard British naval mine – copied from captured German mines developed in World War I.
"Modern mines have fairly little to do with those," Peters told DW. Firing mechanisms on newer devices no longer require actual contact but instead can be triggered by certain magnetic effects, underwater sound waves or reduced underwater pressure caused by passing ships. To program such a mine to a particular class of vessel, "submarines can help determine the acoustic profile of a hostile ship," Peters explained. "These hostile vessels will trigger the mines with their acoustic signatures, while friendly ships can continue to pass through the mined area without any trouble." Time-consuming hunt for potential explosives The process of clearing mines, consisting of mine hunting and mine sweeping, can be time-consuming. To hunt a mine, suspicious objects must first be located, then experts need to determine whether or not it poses a threat. If it does, there are several ways to deal with it: specialists could recover the mine, disarm it or trigger a controlled underwater explosion. Peters compared this to "an underwater ordnance clearing service." But recent developments provide new opportunities to clear mines without putting lives at risk. "When possible, we use drones to search for objects, then identify and destroy them," the Ukrainian soldier Mykola told DW earlier this year. He's part of a Ukrainian task force clearing naval mines in the Black Sea that Russia had placed as part of its war of aggression. How Iran's Navy wields power in the Strait of Hormuz To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video German Navy: mine hunting with drones Germany's navy has also taken to using drones to hunt for sea mines. "We predominantly use autonomous systems to search the seafloor," Frigate Captain Andreas of the 3rd Minesweeping Squadron of the German Navy, told DW. For security reasons, we are only permitted to publish his first name.
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