The seabed of the North Sea and Baltic Sea is littered with remnants of two world wars: nearly two million tonnes of ordnance lie in the German North Sea and Baltic Sea—according to cautious estimates. The dangers posed by potential explosions, the release of chemical substances into the sea, and their transfer to marine life have long been recognized. Nevertheless, clearance is progressing only slowly—too slowly, in the view of the experts from the MUNITECT network.

At its general assembly on 28 February 2020, the alliance of companies and institutions discussed an action plan with the rapporteur for legacy munitions in the Baltic Sea within the framework of the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference, Peter Stein. Appointed to this role in November 2019, the Member of the German Bundestag obtained comprehensive information at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Rostock about the network’s technological solution approaches for the mammoth task of UXO recovery.

The assembled experts made it clear to the Bundestag member that it is now a political task—and an opportunity—to move the issue from discussion “into the water” and begin the urgently needed recovery operations. “I am pleased that the MUNITECT network is supporting us as an advisory body. Policymakers need this kind of support so that concrete and tailored measures can be developed and implemented. I am also grateful that experts like those here at Fraunhofer IGD are engaging so intensively with the issue of legacy munitions. As the responsible member of parliament, I am of course committed to securing the necessary financial resources from the federal government and the federal states. In the resolution I introduced at the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Conference in August 2019, all Baltic Sea states also committed themselves to a joint approach,” said Peter Stein following the MUNITECT general assembly.

About MUNITECT

The MUNITECT network brings together expertise in diving and explosive ordnance disposal and connects technology companies with applied research. Major industrial partners can secure large-scale projects and provide technologies that were previously accessible only to military users. Together with specialized small and medium-sized enterprises in explosive ordnance disposal, this creates a competent and economically stable consortium capable of meeting this generational challenge.

A key strategic focus of the network is the development of suitable new sensor technologies. For example, researchers aim to use neural networks to analyze geophysical data and reliably detect munitions.