Mines, bombs, torpedoes and chemical weapons
After World War II, some 4,000 tonnes of chemical weapons were sunk into the Baltic Sea. This included mustard gas and a variety of other gases, including arsenic compounds. After the war, these chemical weapons were sunk near the island of Bornholm, which belongs to Denmark, offshore from Sweden’s Gotland, and some 100 kilometres to the West of Liepāja. It is likely that the chemicals were transported from the Liepāja port. Some were sunk to a depth of just 20 metres or so.
Early in February 2010, the Swedish television channel SVT reported something very shocking – that when the Russian Army was withdrawing from the Baltic States in the mid-1990s, it sank containers full of chemical weapons and nuclear waste into the Baltic Sea, not far from Gotland. The Swedish government, according to the report, knew about this fact but hushed it up. Russia denies that this has happened, but the Latvian Defence Ministry says that it is entirely possible that some containers were simply sunk into the sea when the Russian military was withdrawing. Officials are careful to say, however, that they do not have specific evidence of this.
Time will tell whether anyone will be investigating this matter. The issue of weapons sunk in the Baltic Sea comes up from time to time along with discussions about the consequences of two world wars. Media outlets throughout the Baltic Sea region have reported on these matters. There are mine seeking operations in the Baltic Sea nearly every year, because mines were actively used in the region during both world wars. Things that have been found include the M-08, M-12 and KB mines of Russia, the magnetic LMB mines of the Germans, German and Russian torpedoes and other, similar “treasures.” Sea mines dating back to 1908 and 1912 are dangerous. Fishermen still sometimes encounter them, and mine seekers have found them quite near shipping routes – even in the Irbe Narrows. Experts think that there might still be some 28,000 mines and other explosives in the sea, and some 15,000 of these might be near the Irbe Narrows, where lots of ships pass through. There are also dangers near many ports. At the Liepāja Port, specialists have found quite a few mines and explosives to show the fierceness of battles in this region back in history. That’s not all. After World War II, some 4,000 tonnes of chemical weapons were sunk into the Baltic Sea. This included mustard gas and a variety of other gases, including arsenic compounds. After the war, these chemical weapons were sunk near the island of Bornholm, which belongs to Denmark, offshore from Sweden’s Gotland, and some 100 kilometres to the West of Liepāja. It is likely that the chemicals were transported from the Liepāja port. Some were sunk to a depth of just 20 metres or so. There is reason to think that the weapons, which were packed in wooden crates, have been affected by the movement of water in the sea, and it is quite possible that they are now scattered across an unimaginably wide territory. Specialists don’t agree as to how dangerous the chemicals would be today. There have been some populist media reports about “sprats in mustard gas jelly,” but 30 years ago the Danes conducted an investigation to find that metal canisters that could be retrieved were empty and rusted, and no pollution was found. It is thought that the dangerous gases simply broke down over the course of time. Mustard gas, however, is a different story. When it is deep in the water, where the temperature is close to zero, it more or less freezes. It is harmless in that condition and cannot rise into the future. In the early 1990s, however, fishermen near Liepāja began to bring up canisters of mustard gas in their nets. Once the gas warmed up, it quickly became toxic once again, and some fishermen did sustain injuries.
The first reports of such incidents date back to the 1950s, and fishermen eventually learned how to avoid the dangerous substances. We can only guess, however, at how far the weapons really are from the port at Liepāja at this time. Right toward the end of World War II, there were fierce battles in the Latvian region of Kurzeme, and there were huge concentrations of forces and arms there. Evidence of this was given when someone quite accidentally found a canister of mustard gas on the beach near the Lithuanian town of Klaipēda. The fact that it contained mustard gas was stated quite clearly on the canister in German. People were evacuated from the beach in a great hurry, but the canister caused no damage. Lithuania raised an international fuss about munitions in the sea, but the scandal quieted down, and people forgot about the canister altogether. There are those who fear that the Baltic Sea will die because of all of the things that have been sunk into it, that the poisonous substances will cause mutations in sea creatures, and that people will eventually suffer. Some scientists in Sweden have argued that there has been a rapid increase in certain types of cancers around the Baltic Sea in recent decades, and they believe that the chemicals in the sea are to blame because they gradually are absorbed by the environment and the air. The bottom line is that some people are expecting another Chernobyl disaster, others think that the dangers are severely exaggerated, and still others simply try to ignore the matter.
Time will tell whether anyone will be investigating this matter. The issue of weapons sunk in the Baltic Sea comes up from time to time along with discussions about the consequences of two world wars. Media outlets throughout the Baltic Sea region have reported on these matters. There are mine seeking operations in the Baltic Sea nearly every year, because mines were actively used in the region during both world wars. Things that have been found include the M-08, M-12 and KB mines of Russia, the magnetic LMB mines of the Germans, German and Russian torpedoes and other, similar “treasures.” Sea mines dating back to 1908 and 1912 are dangerous. Fishermen still sometimes encounter them, and mine seekers have found them quite near shipping routes – even in the Irbe Narrows. Experts think that there might still be some 28,000 mines and other explosives in the sea, and some 15,000 of these might be near the Irbe Narrows, where lots of ships pass through. There are also dangers near many ports. At the Liepāja Port, specialists have found quite a few mines and explosives to show the fierceness of battles in this region back in history. That’s not all. After World War II, some 4,000 tonnes of chemical weapons were sunk into the Baltic Sea. This included mustard gas and a variety of other gases, including arsenic compounds. After the war, these chemical weapons were sunk near the island of Bornholm, which belongs to Denmark, offshore from Sweden’s Gotland, and some 100 kilometres to the West of Liepāja. It is likely that the chemicals were transported from the Liepāja port. Some were sunk to a depth of just 20 metres or so. There is reason to think that the weapons, which were packed in wooden crates, have been affected by the movement of water in the sea, and it is quite possible that they are now scattered across an unimaginably wide territory. Specialists don’t agree as to how dangerous the chemicals would be today. There have been some populist media reports about “sprats in mustard gas jelly,” but 30 years ago the Danes conducted an investigation to find that metal canisters that could be retrieved were empty and rusted, and no pollution was found. It is thought that the dangerous gases simply broke down over the course of time. Mustard gas, however, is a different story. When it is deep in the water, where the temperature is close to zero, it more or less freezes. It is harmless in that condition and cannot rise into the future. In the early 1990s, however, fishermen near Liepāja began to bring up canisters of mustard gas in their nets. Once the gas warmed up, it quickly became toxic once again, and some fishermen did sustain injuries.
The first reports of such incidents date back to the 1950s, and fishermen eventually learned how to avoid the dangerous substances. We can only guess, however, at how far the weapons really are from the port at Liepāja at this time. Right toward the end of World War II, there were fierce battles in the Latvian region of Kurzeme, and there were huge concentrations of forces and arms there. Evidence of this was given when someone quite accidentally found a canister of mustard gas on the beach near the Lithuanian town of Klaipēda. The fact that it contained mustard gas was stated quite clearly on the canister in German. People were evacuated from the beach in a great hurry, but the canister caused no damage. Lithuania raised an international fuss about munitions in the sea, but the scandal quieted down, and people forgot about the canister altogether. There are those who fear that the Baltic Sea will die because of all of the things that have been sunk into it, that the poisonous substances will cause mutations in sea creatures, and that people will eventually suffer. Some scientists in Sweden have argued that there has been a rapid increase in certain types of cancers around the Baltic Sea in recent decades, and they believe that the chemicals in the sea are to blame because they gradually are absorbed by the environment and the air. The bottom line is that some people are expecting another Chernobyl disaster, others think that the dangers are severely exaggerated, and still others simply try to ignore the matter.
| Tourism objects involved in this story | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
Der Kanal der Karaosta und die in diesem Objekt gelegene Station der Seeflote und U-Boot Station wurden auf Befehl der Zar Rußlands vor dem ersten Weltkrieg ausgegraben. Heutzutage ist der Hafen der Unterseeboote ein geschlossenes Territorium und er wird zum wirtschaftlichen Zweck genutzt. Der Kanal von Karaosta ist von der Seite der Pulvera Straße aus, als auch von der Seite der Klapaka Brücke aus zu sehen. |
|
