Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Kelly-Ann Mills

Dolphins being used to protect Russian navy base in Crimea, new satellite images show

Dolphins are being used to protect a Russian navy base in the contested Crimea, military experts believe, as bizarre new satellite images emerge.

The photos taken from above appear to show dolphin pens at the harbour of Sevastopol, Crimea's largest city and a major port which looks out to the Black Sea.

The images have sparked concern that the sea life is being militarised to block Ukrainian operations.

The mammals are being used to deter underwater missions by detecting swimmers and mines, according to a US Naval Institute report.

The satellite images have been published by Maxar Technologies, which has provided photos of the war since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.

A satellite image shows dolphin pens that have been placed at the entrance to Sevastopol Bay (via REUTERS)

The USNI report said it was unclear whether the Ukraine military intends to sabotage the base, but explained how marine mammal programmes train animals to perform protection tasks.

"This could prevent Ukrainian special operations forces from infiltrating the harbour underwater to sabotage warships," the report said.

The US has a Mark 7 Marine Mammal System, better known as a bottlenose dolphin, to detect sea mines, Forces News reports.

The images show the naval base (via REUTERS)

Before Russia's invasion Gervase Phillips, a lecturer in history, politics and philosophy at Manchester Metropolitan University, spoke to Forces News about the role of militarised animals.

He said: "We have nothing like a dog's nose to smell explosives yet and nothing as good at finding things on the seabed as a dolphin or a sea lion.

"There are all kinds of those military roles for which, unfortunately, we have no practical alternative."

The Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Crimea (via REUTERS)

The US Navy began its marine mammal programme in 1960, originally hoping to both improve the hydrodynamics of its torpedoes, and its ability to detect objects under water, by studying dolphins.

Yet the scope of this programme appeared to expand rapidly.

Dolphins were soon being trained to locate enemy mines and lost objects on the seabed.

The dolphin pens on the Black Sea (via REUTERS)

According to the Manchester Metropolitan University report, the Soviet Union is believed to have trained dolphins in a similar manner to the Americans at a facility in Crimea on the Black Sea.

In 2000, the BBC reported that many of these dolphins were sold to Iran following the collapse of the Union.

The facility was re-opened by the Ukrainian Navy in 2012, but since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 has been back in the hands of the Russian Navy.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.