What better place to discuss the challenges of munitions in our seas than right on the Mediterranean? On September 16 and 17, 2026 CAMMera and MMinE-SwEEPER brought together researchers, policymakers, industry representatives, NGOs and IGOs and other stakeholders for two inspiring events at the stunning Musée océanographique in Monaco.
The “Munitions in the Sea – Status and Perspectives” symposium, held as a UN Ocean Decade Activity on September 16, provided a valuable opportunity to take stock of what we know about munitions dumped at sea following the World Wars, and, importantly, to discuss what still needs to be done. Mr Cyril Gomez, COO of the Oceanographic Institute warmly welcomed participants in Monaco. Mr Gomez stated that “The critical issue of dumped munitions in the Western Mediterranean, which will be addressed over the next two days, directly reflects the mission of the Oceanographic Institute of Monaco to protect the ocean”. A further welcome was addressed online by Mr Christos Theophilou of the European Commission who stated that “the Symposium is a particularly valuable opportunity because UXO is a challenge that can not be addressed by any on authority or one organisation or even one country.” The conversation continued during the follow-up workshop on “Mediterranean and European Atlantic Workshop on Munitions in the Sea”, which brought together stakeholders from across the Mediterranean with colleagues from the European Atlantic. The exchange made one thing particularly clear: marine munitions are a shared challenge that calls for shared knowledge, cooperation, and solutions across borders. And the response has been fantastic. We have been overwhelmed by the level of interest in the events and deeply encouraged by the positive feedback we have received from participants. The discussions, new connections, and ideas generated in Monaco have created real momentum for the growing community working on this important issue. A few words from our participants: “Thank you once again for an outstanding event in Monaco. It was gorgeous!”; “This meeting is an important milestone for addressing the issue of marine munitions in the Mediterranean region. I hope we can build on this momentum and continue to move the network forward.”
A beautiful setting, two productive days, and most importantly a growing network ready to keep the conversation moving forward. A big thank you to everyone who joined us, shared their expertise, and contributed to making these events such a success!
A Fitting Timing: The timing of the meeting in Monaco could hardly have been more fitting. While the workshop was taking place, Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment announced that it had commissioned the development of a mobile offshore disposal platform to recover and destroy legacy munitions in the North and Baltic Seas. The platform will be the first of its kind worldwide, marking an important step towards addressing the long-standing challenge of munitions remaining on the seabed. The contract has been awarded to the DSTAR consortium, comprising Dynasafe Demil Systems AB (Sweden), SeaTerra GmbH (Germany), and Abeking & Rasmussen (Germany). We are particularly pleased to see that Dynasafe and SeaTerra are partners in CAMMera and MMinE-SwEEPER — and both were present with us in Monaco. The announcement was therefore a timely reminder of how closely research, cooperation, and practical solutions are coming together to address the challenge of legacy munitions at sea.
The event was also covered on Monegasque television (starting at min 14 here). The presentations for both of the events will be shared with all participants.
Further program information can be found in the agendas for the 16th of September and 17th of September.
