The Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) invited the MMinE-SwEEPER Consortium partners GEOMAR and JPI Oceans to attend their Innovation Conference at the end of October 2025 in Luxembourg. While the conference mainly focused on landmines, it also featured two sessions on underwater munitions, which gave us the opportunity to highlight the ongoing efforts of MMinE-SwEEPER and the wider “Munitions in the Sea” community.
GEOMAR scientist Torsten Frey first participated in a breakout session on “Underwater Ordnance Contamination: Managing Risks, Developing Capacities”, alongside speakers from Tetra Tech and HAMAP Humanitaire, elaborating on “Multicriteria Decision-Making – A Numerical Model for Site Prioritization.” Later, he, together with Paul Trautendorfer from JPI Oceans, contributed to the plenary session “Tackling Underwater Explosive Ordnance Contamination,” where they gave an overview of current developments regarding large-scale offshore explosive ordnance disposal, e.g. in the BorDEx project, as well as policy developments at national, regional, and European levels, and how MMinE-SwEEPER contributes to these efforts.
The conference provided us with valuable insights, particularly concerning developments beyond Europe, and also offered an opportunity to discuss ways to strengthen and further advance the topic within the United Nations.
Photo credits of news tile: GICHD/PANCAKE!
