This afternoon (Monday, 17 October 2022), a controlled detonation of a depth charge from the Second World War will take place. The bomb is located near the tunnel route for the future Fehmarnbelt connection.
Before the excavation work for the Fehmarn Belt tunnel began, the developer of the fixed connection under the Fehmarn Belt, Femern A/S, had the area in and around the tunnel route carefully examined for possible war remains for safety reasons. In the spring of 2021, unexploded ammunition was found in the Danish and German parts of the Fehmarn Belt. With the exception of one German depth charge, all finds have since been salvaged and rendered harmless.
125-kilo bomb
The German deep-sea bomb is of type D II and weighs 125 kg. It was found in the Danish part of the Fehmarn Belt near the German border and the Natura 2000 area “Fehmarnbelt”.
The bomb on the Danish side of the Fehmarn Belt will be detonated under the safest security measures.
Bubble curtain and seal scarers
During the detonation, a so-called double bubble curtain will be used to minimize underwater noise. Acoustic deterrents such as pingers and so-called “seal scarers” will be used to keep marine mammals such as porpoises and seals away from the affected area. In addition, whale watchers will be deployed to monitor the surrounding area.
Danish-German coordination
– Due to the proximity to the nature protection area and the German border, Femern A/S has coordinated the procedure very closely with the responsible German and Danish authorities. The disposal of the bomb is an important prerequisite for us to start the submersion of tunnel elements from 2024, says Jens Ole Kaslund, technical director at Femern A/S.
Femern A/S already committed during the negotiations at the German Federal Administrative Court in the autumn of 2020 to make a bubble curtain available in connection with any blasting in the project area.
The detonation of the bomb will depend on the weather conditions.
