Hands Off?
When I visited the SeaTerra barge on a chilly but clear day last October, I spoke with veteran munitions-disposal expert Michael Scheffler, who’d already spent a month aboard the platform in nearby Haffkrug, on the German coast, carefully cracking open heavy wooden crates caked in mud and slime and packed with 20-mm cannon rounds churned out by Nazi Germany. On that morning, they’d already examined about 5.8 tons of 20-mm rounds, grabbed from the muck by mechanical grabbers and underwater robots and then hauled on board the platform.
A New Era in Munitions Disposal
Robotic crawlers equipped with cameras, powerful lights, sonar, and upgraded grabber systems might be used to pick up munitions more efficiently than the platform-based cranes used now, and could operate around the clock. With remote vehicles, dump sites could also be tackled from multiple sides at once, something impossible to do from a fixed platform on the surface. And ordnance specialists—skilled workers in short supply—could perhaps oversee most of the work remotely from offices in Hamburg, instead of spending days out at sea.
Initial Tests Show Promise
Despite a few issues—such as poor underwater visibility and sometimes inadequate lighting, which made operating remotely through live images difficult—most of the technology in the initial tests worked roughly as planned. “There is certainly room for improvement, but fundamentally the concept works, and the idea that you can identify underwater and store it straight away into the transport crates works,” says Wolfgang Sichermann, a naval architect whose company, Seascape, has been overseeing the project on behalf of Germany’s environment ministry.
Challenges Ahead
While the technology shows promise, there are still limits to just how much can be done remotely with technology. The difficult, dangerous, and sensitive work will sometimes still require hands-on human expertise, at least for the foreseeable future. “There are restrictions to doing a complete remote job of clearance on the seafloor. Definitely, divers and EOD [explosive ordnance disposal] specialists on the seafloor and specialists on-site, they will never go away, no way,” says Guldin.
A Global Problem
Well into the 1970s, militaries around the world turned to the oceans as dumping grounds for old munitions. But since there’s no money to be made in incinerating old aerial bombs, any boom in underwater munitions disposal would depend on major investments in environmental remediation, which happen only rarely. “We could speed up the process and be more efficient, definitely,” Guldin says. “The only thing is, if you bring more resources to the field, it also means somebody has to pay for it. Do we have a government in place in the future who is willing to pay for that? I have my doubts, to be honest.”
Conclusion
The pilot project has shown promising results, but there are still challenges ahead. While technology can improve efficiency and speed up the process, it is unlikely to replace the need for human expertise entirely. The success of the project will depend on finding the right financial backers and governments willing to invest in environmental remediation. If successful, the technology could have a global impact, cleaning up dumped munitions around the world.
FAQs
Q: What is the goal of the pilot project?
A: The goal of the pilot project is to develop and test new technology for the efficient and safe disposal of underwater munitions.
Q: What kind of technology is being used?
A: The technology being used includes robotic crawlers equipped with cameras, powerful lights, sonar, and upgraded grabber systems, as well as remote vehicles and underwater robots.
Q: How does the technology work?
A: The technology allows for the identification and retrieval of underwater munitions, which can then be stored in transport crates and taken to a disposal facility for incineration.
Q: Will the technology replace human expertise?
A: No, the technology will not replace the need for human expertise entirely. While it can improve efficiency and speed up the process, there will still be a need for divers and EOD specialists to work on the seafloor and on-site.
Q: Will the technology be used globally?
A: Yes, if the pilot project is successful, the technology could be used globally to clean up dumped munitions around the world. However, it will depend on finding the right financial backers and governments willing to invest in environmental remediation.
