SEVASTOPOL, March 27 (RIA Novosti) – Crimean combat dolphins will help divers from the Russian Emergencies Ministry find explosives on the floor of the Black Sea, an employee at the Sevastopol State Oceanarium said on Thursday.
Combat dolphins were previously trained through programs for the Ukrainian Navy before the fall of the Soviet Union, and the country’s military renewed the program in 2012.
“We plan on using our dolphins to train together with Emergencies Ministry divers to search for submerged items or arms,” the employee told RIA Novosti on terms of anonymity.
He said the main mission with the dolphins is to remain within Russia’s naval fleet.
“This means the search for items on the seafloor, patrolling the marine area, locating submarines and combat seals. We expect that this will become a separate sphere for military training for the Russian Navy.”
Today, there are only two combat dolphin training centers in the world: San Diego and Sevastopol. The use of other animals in the Russian Navy remains confidential.
