They come from the times of planet War II, together weigh almost 3.5 tonnes and pose a serious threat to shipping, as well as investments carried out on the coast. On Monday, the neutralization of old British mines, which were discovered during the construction of a breakwater for a fresh port in Świnoujście, will begin. This will be handled by experts from the 8th Coast Defence Fleet.
The mines lie at a depth of 10 m. They are only a kilometer distant from the LNG terminal breakwater, which is utilized by tankers bringing liquefied gas to Poland. Old ammunition was traced to the workers of a company rented by the naval office. For any time now they have been clearing the bottom of the Baltic Sea for another large investment – a deep-water container port, which will grow in the right-wing part of the Świnoujście.
– At this point, various types of explosions from planet War II were found earlier. The company was extracting them on its own, then handing them over to our bomb squad. We carried them to the ground and destroyed them there – explains kmdr pr. Grzegorz Lewandowski, spokesperson 8 Coast Defence Fleets. But this time it will be different. The find proved large adequate to be a threat. The mines must be neutralized.
– The screening shows that we are dealing with British aerial mines Mark IV, V and VI – informs Mr Lewandowski. RAF aircraft dropped them close Świnoujście at the end of planet War II. In the largest density on 16 April 1945, erstwhile a massive raid took place to block German ships coming out to the Baltic. Although the area taken over by Poland was mined after the war, not all the objects were traced. The old ammunition is found there and neutralized to this day.
The Mark mines are shaped like a waltz about 3 metres long. They contain between 350 and 550 kg of explosive. They were expected to respond to acoustic and magnetic fields of passing ships. Although they have been deployed for decades, they can inactive pose a threat to shipping and... a crucial obstacle to investors.
Neutralization will begin on Monday morning and may take up to Thursday. The operation will be conducted by miners divers from the 12th Tray Squadron. They'll be coming off their boats in the water. The division of activities will be secured by a trawler and tugboat from our fleet, as well as by vessels of the Border defender and the Maritime Office – said Mr Lewandowski. Miners will usage deflagration. Charges will be placed on the mines, which will burn the explosive inside. The remainder will be destroyed in a conventional way.
The operation involves a number of restrictions for local residents, tourists and sea users. “We are not planning to evacuate, but the absolute ban on entering the water will be in force erstwhile the explosions are closed”, explains Paulina Heigel, spokeswoman of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. The safety zones cover a long of the coastline from Ahlbeck in Germany, through Świnoujście, to Międzyzdroje, and the beaches will be patrolled by police and military. In the area of 8.8 km deep into the Gulf of Pomerania, no another diving work may be carried out either, and in the end, ships and another vessels should bypass the neutralisation site at least 821 m.
Prohibitions will stay in force from 5 to 8 October, 8–15. However, the Navy reserves that the operation may end early.
