These robots restore the explosives that were thrown from the Baltic Sea
When I spoke with Golden in December, after the end of the first phase of the pilot, drawing an approximate vision of what this work could look like in the non -distant future. Robot crawl devices equipped with cameras, strong lights, sonar and Grabber are used to be used to capture ammunition more efficiently than the cranes based on the platform used now, and can work around the clock. With remote compounds, discharge sites can also be processed from multiple aspects at one time, which is impossible to do from a fixed platform on the surface. Ammunition professionals – workers who have been displayed in a shortage – may be honored for most of the offices in Hamburg, instead of spending days at sea.
This is still far away, but despite a few issues – such as a bad underwater vision and sometimes insufficient lighting, which made work remotely through live images difficult – most technology works in almost initial tests as planned. “There is definitely a field of improvement, but in the basic project on behalf of the Ministry of Environment in Germany. Hope is the start of design and then building a floating disposal facility in the coming months, and starting burning the first explosives by some time in 2026 , As Sherman says.
Your hands?
When I visited the BARGE anchor on a cold but clear day last October, I spoke with veteran munition expert Michael Shevler, who has already spent a month on board the podium in the nearby Havakrug, on the German coast, they carefully break the heavy wood open boxes flowing into clay and mud and packed with gun tours 20 mm made by Nazi Germany. In that morning, they already examined about 5.8 tons of a 20 mm round, caught from the mud by Mechanical Crospers and underwater robots and then transported on the platform.
Chefler spent contracts as an expert in removing ammunition, the work he started while serving in the German army. But it was unprecedented of the problem of the ammunition that was thrown – or he had previously imagined trying to address the problem directly.
He told me: “I have been in the job 42 years ago, and I have never had the opportunity to work on a project like this.” “What is being developed and research here in the experimental project is worthy of gold for the future.”
Golden, although he is similarly optimistic about the results of the pilot, warns that there are still limits on the amount that can be done remotely with technology. Difficult, dangerous and sensitive work will sometimes require practical experience, at least in the foreseeable future. “There are restrictions on a complete mission to rid the sea floor. Certainly, divers and EOD [explosive ordnance disposal] Specialists in the sea floor and site specialists, and they will never go, there is no way. “
If the initial cleaning voltage is successful, there is hope that technology will find buyers ready elsewhere-not only about the Baltic. Good in the 1970sArmies all over the world have turned into the oceans as dumping reasons for old ammunition.
But due to the lack of money that must be achieved in burning old air bombs, any boom in eliminating underwater ammunition depends on the main investments in environmental therapy, which rarely occurs. “We can speed up the process and be more efficient,” said Goldin. “The only thing is, if you bring more resources to this field, this also means that someone must pay for it. Do we have a government in the future ready to pay for that? I have my doubts, to be honest.”
“Two weeks ago, I spoke to the ambassador of the Bahamas,” says Sertman. He said: “You are more than welcome to attend and clean everything that the British drowned in” the 1970s, shortly before the Bahamas Islands become independent. “But they expect you to bring money, not just technology. For this reason, you always have to know who is ready To finance it. However, search for appropriate financial supporters, and there will be a lot of possible work around the world. “Certainly there is no shortage of fertilized ammunition.”