Kiel in focus: fight against hidden war dangers in the North and Baltic Sea!
Kiel in focus: fight against hidden war dangers in the North and Baltic Sea!
In Kiel, everything revolves around the sensitive topic of ammunition evacuation these days. From June 18 to 2025, the ammunition Clearance Week will take place here, in which over 200 experts come together from 16 countries to face the challenges that are created by old ammunition in the North and Baltic Sea. As reported NDR, an estimated 1.6 million tons of ammunition are stored from the two world wars, including bombs, mines and chemical fighting materials. These contaminated sites not only endanger the environment, but also the people and the maritime infrastructure.
A particularly stressed area is the Kolberger Heide in front of the Kiel Fjord, where large amounts of ammunition were disposed of after the Second World War. This heritage of war carries considerable risks for fishing, tourism and the construction of wind turbines, especially in view of the continuing increasing demand for sustainable energy.
innovative technologies in use
A central point of the conference is the use of new technologies for ammunition clearance. Autonomous underwater vehicles and artificial intelligence play a crucial role. These techniques should help to locate ammunition more efficiently and to recover, as https://www.tagesschau.de/wissen/forschung/entorge-weltkriegsmunition-100.html). Drones are used to map the sea floor and track down ammunition bodies. Pilot projects that have been running in the Baltic Sea since July 2024 are already showing the first promising results.
In addition, an autonomous rescue platform is developed, which should be ready for use by the end of 2026. This platform will be able to automatically raise ammunition, especially in heavily loaded areas. A Kiel research project also examines how the salvage affects the environment, while the Federal Environment Ministry is planning test salvages in the Bay of Lübeck.
social education in focus
On June 19, 2025, a public side event entitled "Communicating the Legacy of Explosives - Public Awareness and Dialogue will take place. This event aims to clarify the public and decision -makers about the risks and opportunities of old ammunition. There will be a discussion about how awareness of this problem increases and commitment can be promoted while the focus is also on positive narratives. Interested parties are invited to follow the details of the event on [ammunitionclearanceweek.org. For the first time, a delegation from Ukraine takes part in the conference that brings expertise in mapping and measurement. The Ukrainian representatives hope to gain valuable knowledge of technical recovery under water and the cooperation in this area is further strengthened.
In view of the current global challenges, ammunition evacuation is an issue that is both ecologically necessary and socially important. The coming days in Kiel should therefore not only be important for the experts at the conference, but also for the general public, which should develop an understanding of what it means to remove old remains of war from our waters and how this can influence the future of our maritime space.| Details | |
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| Ort | Ziegelteich 30a, 24103 Kiel, Deutschland |
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