Rostock becomes a leadership center for the rescue of old ammunition!

Rostock becomes a leadership center for the rescue of old ammunition!

A new era begins on the German North and Baltic Sea coast: Rostock is the center of the rescue of old ammunition. Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider (SPD) announced that the city was chosen as a federal competence center for the ammunitional evacuation. This takes a clear step to free the waters of dangerous ammunition and environmental risk, which have accumulated there since the end of the Second World War. An estimated around 1.6 million tons of conventional war ammunition are stored in our oceans, and this fund carries considerable risks for the marine ecosystem because explosives can escape from ammunition. This invisible danger is with the residents: not well received inside the coastal regions.

As part of the coalition agreement, the establishment of this center is an important step. Rostock's mayor Eva-Maria Kröger (left) was enthusiastic about the news and emphasized the importance of the decision for the city. The Ocean Technology Campus (OTC) in Rostock, a network of maritime research institutions, will act as a central location for the competence center. Not only the latest technology is available here, but also a test area for marine technology that is managed in the digital Ocean Lab.

The plan for ammunition recovery

In 2024, around 100 experts from politics, business and research met in Kiel to discuss the upcoming pilot recoors of old ammunition in the Baltic Sea. Schleswig-Holstein's Ministry of Energy Transition, Climate Protection, Environment and Nature (Mekun) took over the patronage of the event. Tobias Goldschmidt, Minister of Energy Transition, emphasized that there was a long waiting time of ten years until the first salvage. Equipped with an immediate program of 100 million euros, the salvage actions should now be tackled quickly in order to relieve the contaminated areas of the Baltic Sea. From summer 2025, the first pilot recesses in the Bay of Lübeck are planned.

• Rostock becomes the Federal Competence Center for Mounting Munition.
• About 300,000 tons of old ammunition are in the Baltic Sea.
• Schleswig-Holstein offers cooperation in building the center.
• experts expect the Baltic Sea to be free of ammunition by 2040 if there are enough funds.

environmental concerns and scientific support

But the urgency of these rescue measures is underpinned by the detectable environmental impact. Studies by the Geomar Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research show that explosive compounds have already been found in the water, mostly below critical values, but already dangerously close to these locations in some samples. TNT, RDX and DNB are just a few of the chemical substances that are released in the corrosion of the metal covers. Climate change and increasing temperatures accelerate this decay process, so that without suitable salvage measures, the load will continue to increase in the next few years.

The scientists from Geomar, led by Professor Jens Greinert, will accompany the salvages and keep an eye on the environmental impact. The example format for ammunition evacuation built in Germany could also serve internationally as a model for the elimination of such contaminated sites. The path to the sustainable and safe solution is open, and the coastal residents can hope for fewer risks and a residue -free sea environment.

Further information can be found in the articles of Fisch and fang and at Geomar . .