US Navy explosive ordnance-disposal (EOD) technicians have been working with their counterparts in the Latvian Navy Diving Unit to clear a shipwreck of unexploded shells, as part of an exercise dubbed Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) 25.
Their mission was to locate, move and safely dispose of dangerous historical ordnance from the sunken WW2-era German cargo ship Ilmenau near the port of Liepaja.
Shifting sediment, corrosion and changing currents in the Baltic Sea had raised the risk of shells shifting or becoming exposed, threatening port operations, commercial development and diving activities.
The American specialists, from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 8 based in Rota, Spain as part of Navy Expeditionary Forces Europe-Africa, collaborated with Latvian Navy EOD divers to dispose of more than 50 munitions through controlled underwater explosions.
Many of the shells were located near the wreck’s deteriorating hull or scattered around its perimeter. During the fortnight the teams worked together, they also removed unwanted underwater structures and helped to build a boat slipway
BALTOPS 25 brought together 16 NATO and partner nations, 40 ships, 25 aircraft and 9,000 personnel for two weeks of intensive, integrated training across the Baltic region.
Bomb bay
In the Channel Islands, meanwhile, a recreational diver reported seeing an unexploded WW2 bomb in Jersey’s Bouley Bay, which brought in Royal Navy clearance divers to remove the threat on 21 June.
One of the dive-teams from Bravo Squadron located the “high-explosive projectile” and moved it to a safe location for disposal.
Like the US and Latvian EOD specialists, while there over the following days they also helped out by removing several “underwater obstructions” that had been discovered during a hydrographic survey by the Jersey ports authority.
Also on Divernet: CLEARANCE DIVER EXERCISE TAKES ON NEW URGENCY, NAVY DIVERS DETONATE WW2 BOMB OFF GUERNSEY, DIVERS’ BOMB-FIND DETONATED IN GUERNSEY, SCAPA FLOW – UNEXPLODED TORPEDO FOUND DURING 100TH ANNIVERSARY WEEK
