Undefined Explosive Device (UED) event in Bay of Lübeck area, Germany on Thu 29th August 2024

Commencement of Seabed Ammunition Retrieval Project by Lemke

Unexploded ammunition from past World Wars remains submerged in significant quantities within the North and Baltic seas, totalling over 1.6 million metric tons. Initiation of the first extractions is imminent.


German Federal States — News — The Bay of Lübeck
Commencement of Seabed Ammunition Retrieval Project by Lemke

Unexploded ammunition from past World Wars remains submerged in significant quantities within the North and Baltic seas, totalling over 1.6 million metric tons. Initiation of the first extractions is imminent.

   
Commencement of ammunition retrieval operations in the Northern and Baltic Seas is imminent.

Mid-September marks the commencement of first attempts to lift historical ordnance from the Baltic Sea. In a gathering with waste management sector firms in Berlin, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Green Party) announced this news. She mentioned that the initial fragments of obsolete munitions will be retrieved from the Lübeck Bay in the near future. As reported, the initial phase will be spearheaded by Seascape Enterprises.

Over 1.6 million metric tons of antiquated munitions submerged beneath the sea

Lemke revealed that over 1.6 million metric tons of outdated ammunition post-WW2 reside at the seabed of the German North and Baltic Seas. From 2026 onward, these will start being systematically eliminated. The tender process for the design and construction of the forthcoming disposal platform has commenced. The environmental minister underscored that on a global scale, for the first time, munitions remnants will be removed and destroyed on a grand scale at sea utilizing such a platform. The federal government is allotting 100 million euros in financing for this purpose.

The test retrievals aim to collect data on the condition of the retrieved explosives. Preliminary operations took place in July this year. The insights derived from future retrievals will inform the development of the planned disposal facility.

Health risks also for humans

The German government had promised, in its coalition agreement, to launch an immediate program to facilitate the removal of armaments and chemical weapons from the North and Baltic Seas. Lemke confirmed this commitment, enforcing the significance for human health as well.

Scientists pointed out in 2019 that TNT and its derivative compounds were seeping out from the decomposing munitions, Lemke said. "For quite some time, it was known that munitions pose hazards to fishermen, maritime transportation, and tourism. Nevertheless, the threat to marine life and human health signifies a new dimension," the minister emphasized.

Munitions remnants constitute "a significant burden." The longer they stay submerged in the seabed, the more dangerous they become for aquatic life forms, Lemke explained. Minister of the Environment in Schleswig-Holstein, Tobias Goldschmidt, had recently underscored the urgency of the removal in March. Based on his reports, approximately 18,000 substantial explosive devices were deteriorating in Kolberger Heide, Baltic Sea near Kiel.

The pilot retrievals will initially zero in on Haffkrug and Pelzerhaken Nord, as per Lemke's ministry. Around mid-October, the contracted enterprise will retrieve ammunition from Pelzerhaken West on a trial basis. However, a retrieval contract in Großklützhöved, coastal sea of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, hasn't been granted yet, Lemke declared. The ministry anticipates the grant to take place next year.

The Bay of Lübeck is the location where the initial fragments of obsolete munitions will be retrieved in the near future, as mentioned by Minister Lemke. The removal of these munitions poses a threat to marine life and human health, particularly due to the seepage of TNT and its derivative compounds from the decomposing munitions, as Lemke explained.