If you’ve followed the issue of dumped munitions in Europe’s seas, you’ll know it’s not new. What is new, though, is that we’re finally seeing real movement – with projects connecting and political attention steadily growing.
Over the past year, our EU project MMinE-SwEEPER has made real progress. It has become a hub, bringing together several related marine munitions projects across Europe, bundling communication, knowledge exchange, and collaboration to tackle this complex issue more effectively. Our first stakeholder workshops took place during Kiel Munitions Clearance Week, gathering experts from science, industry, and government to address the challenges of detecting, assessing, and eventually removing these underwater hazards. The latter is now the focus of the recently started sister project CAMMera, which concentrates specifically on dedicated issues of the clearance and disposal of underwater munitions – a clear sign of growing coordinated efforts across Europe.
Earlier this year, we completed our first longer research expedition in the Baltic Sea. We tested different types of autonomous underwater vehicles, or onboard chemical analyzing technologies to better understand where these munitions are and how dangerous they’ve become. Further we took the chance for knowledge exchange and practical training of project partners, e.g. in underwater navigation and ROV deployments.
But it’s not just about science. We’ve also been working to build political momentum. A highlight was our side event at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice on RV METEOR, where we connected with international policymakers and stakeholders. Awareness is clearly growing, and with it, interest in funding, regulation, and coordinated action. In fact, we were very pleased to see that the issue of ‘munitions in the sea’ has been given a prominent place in the new French-German Ocean Agenda – a strong sign that this challenge is finally getting the political attention it deserves.
That said, there’s still a long way to go. There’s no consistent regulation across EU countries. Sometimes it appears that there is no clear responsibility for who deals with underwater munitions. And while research money is flowing, funding for actual cleanup operations is still limited. From the science side we are currently pushing hard in Germany to continue munition clearance of old munition lying on the seafloor, some states are for it and see the need for their own financial contribution, others don’t. It will take some more time to find the needed funding from national and EU sources. Still, I’m optimistic. With MMinE-SwEEPER and related projects, we’re laying the foundation for safer seas and smarter policy. The problem is serious – but solvable.
Prof. Dr. Jens Greinert