KIEL, Rheinmetall to Develop Offshore Platform for Eco-friendly Ordnance Disposal

GERMAN NAVAL YARDS KIEL and Rheinmetall are jointly developing an offshore platform for eco-friendly ammunition disposal.

The danger posed to the environment and people by contaminated ammunition in the Baltic Sea has been known for many years. Politicians, associations and environmental organizations have been searching for suitable solutions in intensive discussions for a long time. According to estimates, there are around 1.6 million tons of conventional and 220,000 tons of chemical warfare munitions on the seabed off the German North and Baltic Sea coasts.

The platform newly developed by the partners could be used as a pilot plant in the Kolberger Heide dumping area at the entrance to the Kiel Fjord for the environmentally friendly disposal of conventional ordnance such as torpedo heads, mines and artillery shells as early as the first half of 2024. On the basis of the knowledge gained, further platforms tailored to the respective application scenarios are then to be created so that the disposal of chemical munitions is also made possible. GERMAN NAVAL YARDS and Rheinmetall Project Solutions have been in close contact with experts and explosive ordnance clearance services since the end of 2020 in order to identify and design safety requirements before and during the handling of ammunition at sea. In some cases, preliminary contracts have already been signed with several leading suppliers of the systems required for the entire process chain, in order to be able to tackle the constantly growing risk to people and the environment as quickly as possible after an award. However, the complexity of handling ammunition at sea must not be underestimated in order to minimize the danger to life and limb.

Another advantage of this approach is the use and linking of already in use, certified plants and systems, so that the complex and expensive development of corresponding components is largely eliminated. Due to the modular design and scalability of the platform, subsequent adaptation to other conditions (e.g. type of ammunition, condition of the ammunition, quantity to be destroyed) can be easily implemented.

Said GERMAN NAVAL YARDS CEO Rino Brugge: “1.6 million tons of contaminated sites alone in German territorial waters do not allow any further delays in this mammoth task."