font_preload
PL / EN
Polish Briefing 8 May, 2019 9:00 am   
COMMENTS: Mateusz Gibała

Polish Briefing: Unexploded ordnance on the Baltic Pipe route? The Danes have a plan

What goes on in Poland on the 8th of May.

Unexploded ordnance on the Baltic Pipe route? The Danes have a plan

The Danish armed forces state that there are or can be unexploded ordnance and ammunition from World War II on the route of the Baltic Pipe. The Danish transmission network operator, Energniet.dk, however, has a plan to avoid these dangers.

The Danish Armed Forces underlined during the consultation on the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline way, conducted by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency that on the route of the new gas pipeline it may be an ammunition from World War II. It concerns western and southern areas near the Danish island of Bornholm and in the North Sea, where the Norwegian Corridor is to be connected to the Norwegian gas pipeline EuroPipe II. The Danish Armed Forces have submitted two of the 150 applications in the course of consultations.

The Ministry of Defense Real Estate Agency warns that placing the gas pipeline in the proposed areas of the North Sea may be dangerous. – This area is covered by prohibition of (construction in case of unexploded ordnance – note ed.), because there are remains of ammunition or objects that can be dangerous – writes the agency, adding that the gas pipeline should be deeply buried in this area. 

– In Little Belt (strait of the Baltic Sea located between the Danish islands of Ærø and Fiona and the Jutland peninsula – ed.) there is very little probability (of the appearance of ammunition – note ed.), but we cannot rule it out – admits the project manager of Baltic Pipe on the side of the Danish transmission grid operator Energinet.dk Søren Juul Larsen. He added that during the construction of an offshore wind farm in the area, unexploded ordnance was found even though the area was considered safe. Larsen reported that Energinet has concluded a contract with a company that specializes in the study of the seabed and the search for mines and other explosives from the Second World War. The plan for the elimination or circumvention of these obstacles must be approved by the Danish Armed Forces headquarters.