2022 11 21 BSPC Wendt

Munition in the SeaWhat do we know and what do we have to do?Jann Wendt BSPC Standing Committee Meeting 21.11.2022Munition in the SeaA worldwide problemGeneral InformationMunition in the sea is a worldwide issue of largedimension.− mostly shallow coastal zones are affected− largest amounts of munition in the sea areresults of munition dumping actions after theSecond World War− the total figure is until now unclear. In Germanwaters alone, it is estimated to be 1.6 Mio.tonnes.Source: AmuCad.org (2022)Munition in the SeaA worldwide problemBackgroundNumerous wars have been fought on the water andespecially in coastal areas throughout history. The First andespecially the Second World War have provided a wholenew dimension of stressAmmunition has entered the sea through various paths:• Naval warfare• Military exercises• Munition dumpingSource: British ArchivesMunition in the SeaThe economic effectsGeneral InformationFoodMunition in the sea is affecting our security, our environment andScienceslows down our energy transformation.Tourism− The value of the blue economy is an estimated US$2.5trn Shippingannually, equivalent to the size of the world’s seventh-largesteconomy. The OECD projects that the ocean’s contribution to Biotechnologythe global economy will double in size by 2030 comparedRessourceswith 2010 levels.− especially our coastal zones are economically usedCoastal protectionconflicting with the problem of munition in the seaInfrastructureSource: Marispace-XMunition in the SeaThe economic effects“The cable route to the wind farm was cleared ofmunitions from World War II. Around 30 tons of munitionswere in the way. According to Tennet, clearing anddelaying the connection resulted in additional costs of100 million euros.” - TAZ“Unexploded munitions found at first largeUS offshore wind farm sites” – New Scientist“Today, with growing shipping traffic and acceleratingdevelopment of offshore pipelines, wind farms, andaquaculture, it’s urgent that we understand the scale of theproblem to find ways to deal with it.” - EuroNewsWhat is happening?ResearchGeneral InformationResearch started to become very active in this domain in the lastseven years and build the foundation for understanding theproblem.- Several European, Interreg and national projects were and arecarried out and provided valuable results• EU: BASTA, EXPLOTECT• Interreg: Chemsea, DAIMON I + II, NorthSeaWrecks• Germany: UDEMM, ROBEMMSource: Sketch of Munition in the Sea (FFI)What is happening?ResearchEnvironmentOur environment including both flora and fauna are affected bythe pollution due to munition in the sea.- Quantitative analysis of chemical compounds related tomunition in water samples were carried out- Different chemicals could be identified which contribute to thetotal load (TNT, RDX, DNT, DNB, ADNT, TNB)- All water samples taken showed chemical pollution related tomunition in the sea and further analysis the North Sea showedsimilar resultsSource: GEOMAR (Aaron Beck) –Project “Explotect”What is happening?ResearchEnvironmentOur environment including both flora and fauna are affected bythe pollution due to munition in the sea.- Quantitative analysis of chemical compounds related tomunition in fishes and mussels were carried out- 25 % of the caught fishes (Common Dab) from the dumpsiteKolberger Heide showed liver deterioration- Mussels exposed to munition showed an uptake of TNT and itsderivativesSource: Thünen-Institutfür Fischereiökologie, Universität Kiel (Maser et. al)What is happening?ResearchData and AnalyticsResearch in the fields of data and analytics created thetechnologies to describe and quantify the problem- The project DAIMON I and DAIMON II build the foundation forrisk assessmentSource: north.io GmbHWhat is happening?ResearchData and AnalyticsResearch in the fields of data and analytics created thetechnologies to describe and quantify the problem- The project DAIMON I and DAIMON II build the foundation forrisk assessment- In the EU funded projects BASTA and EXPLOTECT new ways ofdata acquisition and data analysisSource: north.io GmbHWhat is happening?ResearchData and AnalyticsResearch in the fields of data and analytics created thetechnologies to describe and quantify the problem- The project DAIMON I and DAIMON II build the foundation forrisk assessment- In the EU funded projects BASTA and EXPLOTECT new ways ofdata acquisition and data analysis- The project ERPAD showed new ways of handling the largeamounts of historic data based on artificial intelligence and bigdata technologiesSource: north.io GmbHWhat is happening?PoliticalGeneral InformationMedia and politics became aware of the issue based on the results research provided. Onthe EU Level:- February 2019: Colloquium on the Challenges of Unexploded Munition in the Sea- December 2019: EMFF-based funding of the projects BASTA and EXPLOTECT- March 2021: Members of the European parliament filed a letter to the Commissionaddressing the problems of chemical and conventional munition in the Baltic Sea.- April 2021: Commission President von der Leyen answered that munitions qualifyunder the Marine Strategy Framework Directive as chemical waste and litter- April 2022: DG MARE published EU-financed “Study on underwater unexplodedmunition”Source: European CommissionWhat is happening?PoliticalGeneral InformationMedia and politics became aware of the issue based on theresults research provided. On the Interregional Level:- Since 15 years research is funded mostly in the context ofInterreg projects (North Sea Region, Baltic Sea Region)- Since almost 10 years the Baltic Sea Parliamentaryconference plays an active role in addressing the issue- In August 2021 the BSPC published the “Report on Sea-Dumped Munitions for the 30th BSPC”Source: BSPCWhat is happening?PoliticalGeneral InformationMedia and politics became aware of the issue based on the resultsresearch provided. On the German national level:- The German government started to fund larger scale munitionsresearch in 2016 mostly by the Ministries of Economy and Research- The acting coalition addressed for the first time in the coalition „Für die Bergung und Vernichtung vonMunitionsaltlasten in der Nord- undagreement of 2021 the topic of munition in the seaOstsee wird ein Sofortprogramm- After intense budget negotiations it was announced in the last weekaufgelegt sowie ein Bund-Länderfondsthat the “Sofortprogramm” gets a funding of 102 Mio. Euros mainlyfür die mittel- und langfristige Bergungtargeting technological developmentseingerichtet und solide finanziert.“- The topic “Munition in the Sea” is actively addressed by the GermanSource: SPD, Bündnis90/Die Grünen, FDP: Coalition Agreementforeign policyWhat is happening?PoliticalGeneral InformationMedia and politics became aware of the issue based on the resultsresearch provided. On the federal state level:- The Schleswig-Holstein government is addressing the issue since thelast 15 years. Since 2012 the issue was part part of all three coalitionagreements- Schleswig-Holstein played a key role in preparation of the report“Munitionsbelastung der deutschen Gewässer (2011)”- A special division in the ministry of environment “SonderstelleMunition im Meer” was created and is actively involved in coordinatingthe German efforts on the federal level (e.g. BLANO)Source: CDU, Bündnis90/Die Grünen, FDP, SPD, : Coalition AgreementsWhat is happening?IndustryIndustrial developments- Focusing mainly on two different topics:• making existing processes more efficient, more secure andgenerating higher throughput (hardware and sensors)Source:Taucherei-und Bergungsbetrieb Rostock GmbHWhat is happening?IndustryIndustrial developments- Focusing mainly on two different topics:• making existing processes more efficient, more secure andgenerating higher throughput (hardware and sensors)Source: FugroWhat is happening?IndustryIndustrial developments- Focusing mainly on two different topics:• making existing processes more efficient, more secure andgenerating higher throughput (hardware and sensors)• Strategic technological developments for larger scaleclearance and disposal operationsSource: SeaTerraGmbH, Boskalis HirdesWhat is happening?IndustryIndustrial developments- Focusing mainly on two different topics:• making existing processes more efficient, more secure andgenerating higher throughput (hardware and sensors)• Strategic technological developments for larger scaleclearance and disposal operationsIndustry needs an investment perspective on how to moveforward in a market initiated by governmentsSource: thyssenkruppMarine Systems GmbHWhat is happening?OtherKiel Munition Clearance Week- In September 2021 the 3-day event “Kiel Munition ClearanceWeek” to place for the first time focusing on the issue ofmunition in the sea- A total amount of more than 600 participants joined the hybridevent from more than 35 countries- For the first time all different kinds stakeholders includingindustry, research, public authorities, politics and navysexchanged about the problems and discussed potentialsolutionsSource: north.io GmbH (2022)What is happening?OtherBaltic Sea Region Future Forum- In August 2022 the event “Baltic Sea Region Future Forum” toplace for the first time in Kiel focusing on the future of the regionand international cooperation- Munition in the Sea was directly addressed by foreign policy,round tables and played a prominent role in the outputs of theevent- The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the Baltic SeaParliamentary Conference (BSPC) were present and foundcommon ground in addressing the issueSource: Baltic Sea Region Future Forum 2022ConclusionsSummaryWhat needs to be done?The research in the last years helped us to understand theproblem and potential consequences of the issue of munition inthe seaTime to act is nowfurther corrosion processes is leaving us with a maximumtimeframe of 30 – 40 years especially in the Baltic SeaWe are ready to actresearch and technological developments of the last yearsprovided us with the toolsSource: Christian HoweConclusionsSummaryWhat needs to be done?The research in the last years helped us to understand theproblem and potential consequences of the issue of munition inthe seaTime to act is nowfurther corrosion processes is leaving us with a maximumCBSStimeframe of 30 – 40 years especially in the Baltic SeaWe are ready to actresearch and technological developments of the last yearsprovided us with the toolsWe need an international coordinating institutionThe problem of munition in the sea is not a national issueSource: own representation