Germany Tackling WWII Ordnance Littering Baltic Sea

Boltenhagen, Germany At the end of WWII, ammunition-filled trains from all over Germany were sent to coasts along the Baltic and North Seas. Fishermen were hired to take the ordnance to assigned disposal areas, but unfortunately some was simply dumped in non-designated areas. Over the years, strong currents have led to the munitions being spread all over the seabed.

Since then, the German government has awarded over 100 million euros ($117.4 million) in contracts to teams of engineers and divers to devise a plan to remove the approximately 1.6 million tons of old, decaying munitions that pose considerable risks and the rust and emit toxic substances including TNT compounds.

A four-week pilot project kicked off last month after a large field with around 900 tons of old ordnance was discovered. Divers are working around the clock to sort the hazardous devices into underwater baskets awaiting a ship to bring them ashore for removal to a disposal facility.

One of the divers, Dirk Schoenen, explained the difficult operations, "This isn't a routine job. The challenge, of course, is that you never know what you're going to get. Most of these things can be handled, but you mustn't neglect caution and just randomly hit something or throw something away."