The North Sea Wrecks Project will organise the next Steering Group Meeting in May 2019 in Oostende (Flanders - Belgium). The 2 days meeting will be hosted by VLIZ - Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee and will have a tight agenda.
During the first day, the partners will have the opportunity of discussing the progress done and the coordination of the activities between among the different work packages and outline next steps in 2019. In addition, the consortium will meet representativas from the Flanders Heritage Agency, Flemish member of the Advisory Board.
During the second day, the hosting partner is preparing a site visit to specific places of interest for the project, like the Research Vessel Simon Stevin (to be confirmed). The consortium will also have the opportunity of discussing communication and dissemination activities and the TravEx - travelling exhibition.
IkerConsulting has been recently entrusted with the responsibility of the management of the North Sea Wrecks project and will attend the meeting.
The North Sea is littered with thousands of ship and aircraft wrecks, million tons of conventional munitions and Chemical Warfare Agents. Additionally, bunker oil and hazardous cargo in sunken ships puts a threat to human beings, the environment and blue growth operations, such as commercial and leisure navigation, tourism, mariculture and offshore wind parks for example.
Scientists report a lack of information and knowledge about location of wrecks, munitions, lost materials and sea dumped (chemical) waste and its composition.
There is a lack of a co-operation and joint (mitigation) strategy, only fragmented actions at national level exist. The project provides a comprehensive methodology to assess, investigate and describe respective data sources, incl. mapping maritime heritage sites or objects. The project will provide tools necessary for planners, response organizations, economic actors and other stakeholders to assess and propose solutions for risk mitigation regarding wrecks and munitions in the North Sea.
The consortium is formed of public authorities for maritime safety and planning, scientists and private companies dealing with UXO (Unexploded Ordnance).
Methods include exploration of potential data and field sampling with research vessels. We will deliver a powerful network, a Decision Support Database system based on case studies, a risk assessment methodology and policy recommendations for action. Co-operation with existing projects avoids duplication of efforts.
For more information, please visit the project Website.
