BALEX Delta: Oil spill in the Kadet Channel

Warnemünde base supports security exercise

At the end of August, international emergency services practised combating pollutants in the north-eastern Mecklenburg Bight. 15 ships and 400 emergency personnel from eight countries bordering the Baltic Sea took part in the training. This time, the planning and monitoring of the annual exercise was the responsibility of the Central Command for Maritime Emergencies in Cuxhaven, the joint organisation of the federal government and the five coastal states for coordinating a joint response to accidents in the North and Baltic Seas.) The Warnemünde base supported the safety exercise.

The initial scenario was the collision of a container ship with a crude oil tanker in the busy Kadet Channel. Unsweetened popcorn, salted only with seawater, then simulated the spilled oil: the crew poured this puffed corn into the Baltic Sea from the sea-going vessel "Ranzow". Popcorn has similar properties to an oil slick on the surface of the water and is therefore suitable for a realistic exercise. The oil spill response vessels rushed to the scene deployed oil booms and prepared their oil recovery equipment to collect the oil.

On the beach in Rostock-Markgrafenheide, the emergency services then practised picking up "oil" driven by the wind and currents on the coast. Using skimmers to remove contaminants, even highly viscous oil can be sucked up from the surface of the water and thus collected. The oil-water mixture is then collected in a rapid assembly container by the emergency services. From there, the contaminated liquid is fed into the separation container. The separation system filters the oil out of the contaminated water and recovers water of almost drinking water quality.

The head of the Central Command for Maritime Emergencies, Dr Robby Renner, was satisfied with the outcome of the exercise: "We cannot be successful in major maritime incidents as a nation alone, but only in cooperation with our international partners." The coordination of the various forces, including the federal police, fire brigades and technical relief organisations on the German side, had worked very well. He also thanked the German Navy: "The Warnemünde naval base was a cornerstone of the success - thank you for the fantastic support!" Among other things, the Warnemünde naval base provided berths for the participating ships, areas for training equipment, accommodation, offices and meeting rooms.

Photo: Bundeswehr/Henning Baumeister