Salvage of the U-864

[PappyCain]

The Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) has decided to award the contract for the possible salvage of the U-864 submarine and its cargo of mercury to Mammoet Salvage B.V.

Two options have been proposed to deal with the environmental hazard formed by the mercury in the U-864 submarine: (a) to encase the wreck and cover the seabed to prevent the spread of the pollution, and (b) to recover the wreck (salvage) and remove all the pollutants from the marine environment. Mammoet Salvage has proposed a safe and innovative salvage solution.

The U-864 time bomb
On 9 February 1945, the German submarine U-864 was torpedoed by the British submarine HMS Venturer. The U-864 sank about two nautical miles west of the island Fedje, just north of Bergen, with the loss of all 73 on board. The submarine's cargo included approximately 67 tons of metallic mercury which is highly toxic. As the U-864 was on a mission it was also carrying a full load of weapons. The vessel's wreckage is considered to be a potential long-term threat to human health and the environment.

Two alternatives
The Norwegian Parliament has to decide if the wreck and its cargo should be raised to the surface, or be encased on the seabed and the contaminated sediment capped to prevent the spread of pollutants. Mammoet Salvage has proposed a method to raise the wreck which satisfies the environmental requirements. If the Norwegian Parliament approves this method then the salvage operation is likely to take place in 2010. This decision will probably be taken before the end of 2008.

A solution
The NCA selected Mammoet Salvage B.V. for the potential salvage of the German submarine because of the company's innovative engineered solution. This together with the experience gained on the remote control salvage of the Runner 4 in the Baltic Sea last year, has resulted in a safe, fully remotely-controled operation. With this system Mammoet will raise the submarine and take away the source of pollution without the need for anyone working under water. Mammoet Salvage has found a solution to overcome one of the specific challenges: lifting the wreck from the unstable seabed.

Decision
The Norwegian Parliament now has to decide if the wreck and its cargo should be salvaged forever or be left in place and encased and capped.

Mammoet Salvage B.V. and affiliated company Mammoet Norge AS are part of the Mammoet Holding B.V. (heavy transport and lifting specialists) which was awarded the contract of the salvage of the Kursk Russian nuclear submarine in 2001. Since then Mammoet Salvage has carried out a range of salvage projects throughout the world.

[Jimbuna]

I'd have thought it would be best to seal the wreck off....seeing as how it's a war grave.

[Schroeder]

Well, sealing off just postpones the problem. Someday even the best seal will be destroyed by the constant forces of the ocean. Plenty of people have died in that thing, lets make sure no one else is getting hurt by it.

[Red Heat]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Well, sealing off just postpones the problem. Someday even the best seal will be destroyed by the constant forces of the ocean. Plenty of people have died in that thing, lets make sure no one else is getting hurt by it.

I full agree...

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

Well, sealing off just postpones the problem. Someday even the best seal will be destroyed by the constant forces of the ocean. Plenty of people have died in that thing, lets make sure no one else is getting hurt by it.

Your probably right, but I still get a sense of unease at the thought of disturbing the dead in that thing. :hmm:

[Uncle Goose]

Anybody any idea why this submarine had that cargo on board and what the uses were of mercury at that time??

[jpm1]

Originally Posted by Uncle Goose

Anybody any idea why this submarine had that cargo on board and what the uses were of mercury at that time??

I'm discovering the thing , the operation involving the u-boot was called operation Caesar (cargo for Japan) but if the operation's described on Wiki nothing about what the mercury would have been used for , any info .. someone

[jpm1]

i think the sending of frog-men to evaluate the erosion status of the shell should be a first sensed step . don't know the mercury lifetime but i think the shell encaping solution should be a viable solution only if the encaping material as a higher lifetime than the mercury as toxic substance

[Einzelganger]

Originally Posted by jpm1

i think the sending of frog-men to evaluate the erosion status of the shell should be a first sensed step . don't know the mercury lifetime but i think the shell encaping solution should be a viable solution only if the encaping material as a higher lifetime than the mercury as toxic substance

Actually mercury is a natural element so i would assume it would not really degrade over time very much if at all.

The stuff itself is pretty nasty and exposure to even a small amount of mercury can cause medical problems. Over a longer timespan it has the ability ( apart from a lot of other medical problems ) to damage DNA in living cells which will cause a lot more problems down the line.

Can you imagine sitting on top of 67 tons of that stuff let alone it posioning the marine life in that part of the seas ?

And even if they were to encase U-864 i don't really see how they could prevent the mercury from entering the very seafloor this submarine is now resting on. The surrounding soil would get poisoned & eventually mercury would work it´s way into the foodchain again. So, I can understand their desicion to salvage the wreck. It's basically a timebomb waiting to blow.

Having said all that...............

Even with it being a wargrave i don't see why it couldn't be treated with respect. Any remains found onboard could either be laid to rest somewhere ashore or perhaps be given a new burial at sea somehow, somewhere.

Just my $0.02

[Kapt Z]

Isn't the sunken 'german' u-boat still official 'german' property??? Does Germany have a say in all this?

I certainly hope they don't run into problems in the salvage attempt....

[bigboywooly]

Originally Posted by Kapt Z

Isn't the sunken 'german' u-boat still official 'german' property??? Does Germany have a say in all this?

I certainly hope they don't run into problems in the salvage attempt....

Should really be classed as a war grave but I think the enviromental impacts outwiegh all other concerns at the moment

Whats that cost equate too Seth ?

som vil koste rundt en milliard kroner.

[_Seth_]

Originally Posted by bigboywooly

Whats that cost equate too Seth ?

About 1 billion Norwegian kroner, app. 147 million, 717033 thousand dollars.. But i think this number will be larger, since noone really knows how the technical state of the vessel is.

[Kapt Z]

Originally Posted by bigboywooly

Should really be classed as a war grave but I think the enviromental impacts outwiegh all other concerns at the moment

Oh, I agree on the necessity. I was just curious if the Norwegians had to get a ok from the German gov't.