Research and cooperation for systematic munitions clearance in the North and Baltic Seas

‘The topic is of particular social and economic importance and shows how important research can and must be as a pioneer for the implementation of pressing issues,’ emphasised Monika Fischer from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in her welcoming speech at the dialogue event “Munitions in the sea – science, pilot recovery of munitions and what next?” on 26 November 2024 in Berlin. In his welcoming address, Dieter Janecek, the Federal Government’s Coordinator for Maritime Economy and Tourism, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, described the munitions clearance project as a flagship project for Europe that would bring both ecological and economic benefits.

The event, organised by the German Marine Research Alliance (DAM), the sustainMare research mission and the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union, brought together representatives from politics, science, industry and nature conservation. The aim was to present initial findings from the pilot recovery operation in the Bay of Lübeck and to discuss the next steps required for systematic munitions clearance in the North Sea and Baltic Sea.

Munitions recovery: Findings and expectations

Jens Greinert from GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel presented the results of the Pilot project to salvage abandoned ammunition in Bay of Lübeck, which was carried out as part of the German government’s emergency programme under the auspices of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV). He emphasised interdisciplinary cooperation as a key aspect: ‘Projects like CONMAR can only be successful if we work together. The investigations in the Bay of Lübeck, which included water samples before and after the clearance and fish analyses from Haffkrug and Pelzerhaken, showed no significant impact of the clearance activities on the marine ecosystems. Further analyses are currently being carried out.

In his presentation, Kim Detloff, Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU), emphasised the importance of close cooperation between science, industry and politics for the success of the munitions clearance project to date. He also called for the establishment of a federal-state fund to finance the floating disposal platform in particular, the development of disposal capacities on the coast and Germany’s involvement in a European initiative for strategic munitions clearance.

Panel discussion: From pilot recovery to systematic evacuation

The panel discussion with StS’in Christiane Rohleder (BMUV), Astrid Damerow MdB (CDU), Sebastian Schäfer MdB (Bündnis90/Grüne) and Olaf in der Beek MdB (FDP) made it clear that munitions clearance and disposal in the North Sea and Baltic Sea is a long-term, interdisciplinary challenge that requires close cooperation between the federal government, federal states and industry. Sustainable financing, the development of infrastructure, such as the planned disposal platform, and European networking are crucial for the success of the project. The economic potential of munitions clearance through the export of German technology was also emphasised.

FURTHER INFORMATION

• Programme of the event
• A summary of the scientific findings on munitions contamination in the North Sea and Baltic Sea is available here (in German).