Munitions background

It is a known fact that certain areas of the Baltic Sea were used as munitions dump sites during the 20th century, making this one of the central issues for Nord Stream in selecting and preparing a safe route for its pipeline. Marine scientists have already possessed a wealth of information on the dumped munitions, which Nord Stream has factored into its planning.

In order to find the possible route, in a safe distance from munition dump sites, Nord Stream undertakes investigations such as:

• Archive studies,
• Field identification of dumped munitions e.g. by magnetometer and side scan sonar,
• Bottom sediments and near-bottom water sampling and testing,
• Visual identification by divers.

These comprehensive studies are the first of their kind. Today, Nord Stream analyses the information gathered in order to select a secure route. In the future, the Baltic Sea will benefit from the vast amount of data collected in relation to the Nord Stream project: They are an important step in solving the prevailing munitions problems. Results and findings are shared with all interested parties.

Nord Stream has drafted a background paper detailing the topic of munitions as well as the survey works. You may access the paper here.