BALTWRECK – an international consortium on Baltic shipwrecks
We take part in the international BALTWRECK consortium led by the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk. The project addresses the hazards posed by wrecks lying on the Baltic seabed.
Background
The Baltic is one of the seas most densely littered with wrecks. Ships sunk during and after the Second World War are not only historical sites. They are fuel tanks, munitions and chemical cargo that have been corroding under water for more than 80 years. The problem crosses borders: a leak off one coast affects every country in the region.
Hence BALTWRECK, set up as an international consortium under a Baltic Sea Region cooperation programme.
How we joined
We joined the consortium after thematic workshops in 2023, which led to an invitation to cooperate. We took part in building the consortium and preparing the application, and in 2024 in the kick-off meeting at the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery in Gdańsk, which leads the project.
Why it matters to us
BALTWRECK ties in directly with our BIOREMOIL project, in which we are developing a method and device for bioremediation of oil spills lying on the seabed around wrecks, with the Stuttgart wreck near Gdynia as the reference site. IMP PAN is the research partner in both projects.
The consortium gives us access to knowledge and data from across the region and contact with teams facing the same problem off their own coasts. We work the way international projects require: with applications, reporting, consortium meetings and in English.
Photos
