Project IRAV – How to recover munitions in Germany’s coastal waters

There are approximately 1.6 million tons of old ammunition in the North and Baltic Seas. Can you imagine? With the IRAV project, we will clean up the seabed. The project is supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and aims to develop a concept that enables the detection, classification and safe removal of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from the German coastal sea.

Explosive ordnance in the German coastal sea: A problem for the environment and the population

The ammunition has been lying in the seas for almost 80 years and is rusting more and more. This releases toxic substances that damage marine ecosystems and threaten coastal waters. Unless action is taken quickly to prevent further releases of warfare agents, serious problems in the habitat of numerous animal and plant species are inevitable. In some cases, hazardous substances wash up on beaches and can pose a risk to the public. It is essential to remove the explosive ordnance from the oceans in a sustainable manner to protect the environment and people.

This is where the IRAV project comes in

And we must act now. Failure to act and ensure that these harmful substances are no longer released into the environment will have significant consequences for our ecosystem. That’s why a task force of several experts from ATLAS ELEKTRONIK, thyssenkrupp Marine Systems, Fraunhofer IWES and Stascheit GmbH started the IRAV project.

“There is no industrial solution on the market which combines the whole process chain from detection to removal. We want to develop a sustainable economic approach starting with the detection and classification up to the recovery and delaboration of the ammunition” says project leader Julien. Not easy with a team spread all over the country. A major part of the project is managed from the office and the upcoming work steps are planned in close cooperation and continuous contact between the team members and subject matter experts.

“The project also includes two separate expeditions, each is expected to last about 10 to 15 days at sea. The first expedition will be used to survey and map the seafloor using a variety of existing sensors, whereas we would like to test new sensor types and methods in the second expedition,” explains Julien.

Salvage of unexploded ordnance on the seabed: a sustainable process

It is a complex task that requires careful planning and execution. But what is involved in recovering munitions from the seabed? “In order to safely handle the UXO, the position and type of ammunition on the seabed must be determined using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs),” explains Julien. They are then safely transported of the seabed with a Utility Tool to the water surface.

“For sustainable remediation of unexploded ordnance, the ammunition is defused and delaborated on site at sea on a fully automated swimming platforms,” describes Julien. Remotely operated multi-axis robotic arms, modern sawing technology or water-jet cutting machines should be used to dismantle the explosive components into harmless parts.

Another important aspect of the process is the integration of a newly developed sensor technology that enables more precise classification and identification of the contaminated sites even partly into the sediment. This holistic approach ensures the sustainable remediation of the contaminated sites and UXO on the seabed. “The project represents a major step forward in cleaning and protecting our oceans,” states Julien.

Looking to the future: an opportunity for the environment and the economy

There is political disagreement about how to deal with the legacy issues. So what are the next steps? “We hope that the results of the IRAV project will lead to a contract from the German government, and the process chain that we are establishing through the project will be used within the future to help saving our oceans,” says the project manager.

In addition, we want to use the knowledge gained from the use of the novel sensors for other business areas within ATLAS. This offers benefits not only for the environment, but also for the economy.

Do you want to make a difference and get on board at thyssenkrupp Marine Systems or ATLAS ELEKTRONIK? Take a look at our vacancies on our career page and join our crew.