BUCHAREST, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Multinational Poseidon 2019 naval exercise kicked off on Friday in the port city of Constanta on the shores of the Black Sea, involving troops from Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine and host country Romania.

"Today, we are opening the Poseidon 19 NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) multinational exercise...to increase interoperability among the navies of the NATO member states and partner countries under the Partnership for Peace (PfP)," said Alexandru Mirsu, chief of the Romanian Naval Forces, at the opening ceremony in Constanta Port.

The main aim of the exercise, which follows NATO standards, is to improve personnel training for the discovery and neutralization of sea mines, said the officer, adding that "it is a complex exercise in which we will carry out activities in all fields, land, air and sea."

"Our activities are routine navy practice and in no way can they be considered provocative," stressed Mirsu.

According to him, over 1,300 Romanian and foreign troops, 16 warships and five aircraft will take part in the excise in Constanta Port, in the districts of the Romanian territorial waters and the international waters of the western Black Sea basin.

The exercise will end on March 8.

Poseidon exercise began in 2015 as a bilateral Romanian-Bulgarian naval exercise. The host for the exercise alternates each year between Romania and Bulgaria.