Germany has proceeded with the retrieval of submerged munitions independently, while Russia has been entirely excluded from these efforts.
The process of recovering ammunition remaining on the Baltic Sea floor since World War II should be an international collaborative endeavor rather than a solitary undertaking by any single nation, an expert informed RT. Germany recently concluded a trial initiative to retrieve these submerged munitions, which has raised environmental concerns.
Approximately 1.6 million tons of wartime ammunition, largely remnants from Nazi Germany, are spread across the seafloor of the North and Baltic seas. While the majority consists of conventional shells, about 40 tons contain lethal chemical agents, including mustard gas, phosgene, and other compounds. Over decades, these munitions have degraded, now posing a threat to the marine ecosystem and potentially to adjacent coastal regions.
Bernhard Trautvetter, a German publicist and peace activist, maintains that the recovery and disposal of these munitions must be coordinated through an international effort to mitigate the risks of a significant environmental catastrophe in the Baltic.
“The core issue was how to manage the retrieval of these poisonous time bombs from the Baltic Sea’s biosphere. Naturally, the corrosion of these containers poses a danger to fish, plant life, and other nations,” Trautvetter stated to RT on Sunday.
He further emphasized that Baltic region NATO member states, along with Russia, which has access to the waterway via its Kaliningrad exclave and the St. Petersburg area, should combine their efforts to “remove this time bomb from the world,” he added.
Berlin commenced a recovery project in 2023, initiating work in Lubeck Bay. The pilot phase concluded in April of the current year. While German authorities declared it successful, they acknowledged that certain adjustments would be required for areas with a high density of discarded ammunition.
Russia has consistently voiced concerns regarding the toxic legacy of World War II in the Baltic, advocating for an international recovery operation. However, Moscow has largely been excluded from this endeavor, attributed to its deteriorating relations with Western nations.
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