Mines, bombs, torpedoes and chemical weapons in the Baltic Sea

Namely, it was said that the Russian army, in the process of withdrawing its troops from the Baltic States, removed the port of Liepaja from the port of Liepaja in the early 1990s and dumped containers with chemical weapons and nuclear waste in the Baltic Sea near the island of Gotland. In addition, the Swedish government has been informed about it, but this fact has been concealed ... The Russian side denies this fact, while the Latvian Ministry of Defense allows the possibility that some containers with military content may have been sunk in the process of withdrawing troops, although a certain fact not ... Will anyone try to verify this information and what will it all end up with, time will tell. However, from time to time, the question of the weapons sunk in the Baltic Sea and the consequences of the past two world wars and their legacy rises in the media throughout the Baltic Sea region.

Almost every year, large-scale mine search operations take place in the Baltic Sea, as the sea was heavily mined in both the First and Second World Wars. Russian-style anchor mines M-08, M-12, KB, German-made magnetic earth mines LMB, German and Russian torpedoes and other similar treasures are found and eliminated. Even the sea mines produced in 1908 and 1912, which are still encountered by fishermen and are often found near shipping lanes, even in the Irbe Strait, are still dangerous. According to expert estimates, there could still be around 28,000 mines and explosive objects in the sea, of which about 15,000 are in the immediate vicinity of the shipping lanes in the Irbe Strait.

However, dangerous finds can occur not only far from the coast, but also in port waters. For example, in the water area of Liepāja port, more than one mortar projectile and an explosive object have been found as a confirmation of the battles that once took place here. But that is not all. After the Second World War, a huge amount of chemical weapons was dumped in the Baltic Sea - about 40.00 tons. They contained mustard or mustard gas, nerve gas tabun, suffocating gas phosgene and other arsenic-containing compounds. After the war, large quantities of this chemical munition were dumped on the Danish island of Bornholm, on the Swedish island of Gotland and about 100 kilometers west of Liepaja. Most likely, they were taken directly from the port of Liepaja, and some of the ammunition was sunk without being taken to these sinking areas and at relatively small (only 20 meters!) Depths. It is suspected that the ammunition, then sunk in wooden boxes, has been exposed to currents over time and may now be scattered over unimaginably large areas.

There are quite conflicting views on the dangers of this ammunition. On the one hand, anxiety is being raised and sprats in mustard jelly are being written in the media, but on the other hand, the charges in the Danish straits thirty years ago have rusted and empty, no pollution has been found nearby and the harmful gases phosgene and taboo have been decomposed over time. Another thing is mustard, which at temperatures close to zero in the lower layers of water seems to freeze, is harmless in its physical state and is unable to swim. However, at the beginning of the 1990s, fishermen from the Liepāja side more than once pulled such battles with mustard into their nets, which caused significant health problems, as mustard warmed up and quickly regained its toxic properties in sunlight and warm air temperature. The first similar cases were recorded in the 1950s, and fishermen have learned to avoid dangerous places over time. However, we can say how far the chemical warheads are from the port of Liepaja.

Let us not forget that in the Kurzeme pot there were heavy battles at the very last moment of the war and considerable counter-forces and armaments were concentrated. A serious warning can be the charge of chemical warfare agents, which was suddenly found on the beach of Klaipeda, it was decorated with the inscription in German "Yperit". So there was mustard in the charge decorated with the skull. People were hastily evacuated from the beach, but the projectile did not cause any damage. After this incident, Lithuania had made an international noise about the munitions dumped at sea, but the scandal gradually subsided and fell silent. On the one hand, it is believed that the Baltic Sea can become a dead sea due to these chemical charges, and that all life in it can be devastated, that toxic substances can cause mutations in life forms and, over time, humans. In Sweden, some scientists have said that the number of cancer patients in the countries around the Baltic Sea has risen sharply in recent decades, and they believe that chemical warfare agents dumped at sea, which are gradually being absorbed into the environment and released into the air, are to blame. Some believe that the fate of the other Chernobyl awaits the Baltic Sea, others believe that the danger is greatly overestimated and therefore pretend not to see this problem.