Summary
Operation of strategic importance (OSI) or above EUR 5 million
Project name (EN): Remediation, Management, Monitoring and Cooperation addressing North Sea UXO
Project acronym:
REMARCO
Project ID:
qxaeEQkgz
Project start date: 2023-07-01
Project end date: 2027-06-30
Project status:
ongoing
Relevant mentions and prizes:
Total budget/expenditure:
EUR 4 758 927.00
Total EU funding (amount):
EUR 2 697 076.00
Total EU funding (co-financing rate):
60.00%
Co-financing sources:
- ERDF: Amount, EUR 2 697 076.00. Co-financing rate, 60.00%.
Investments, deliverables, policy contributions
(bullets are inserted automatically and may be incorrectly placed)
Deliverables:
- Case Studies / Select wrecks and munitions dump sites as hot spots in Flanders/BE, German Bight/DE and Sejerø Bay/DK and Tirpitz Salvage Site /NO. Organise surveying expeditions for sampling water, sediments and biota and perform ecotoxicological analysis, comparing with background values caused by individual exercises and detonation activities. Quantification of uptake depuration and health effects of exposed organisms. Investigation of toxic mechanism using in-vivo live imaging. Develop time series and performing interlab comparisons.
- Introduce Strategic Risk Assessment / The risk assement methodology developed in the previous NSW project will be strategically applied within the context of the MSFD to include a whole set of data related to toxic compounds not considered before. Additional research on their effect of the novel aspects on marine food safety. Integrate case studies conclusions into the WRECKNS system. Map, visualize & refine risk analysis features based on the scientific outcomes of this project and identify possible intervention measures.
- Toxic Compound Food Safety Issues within the EU / North Sea chemical pollution may have an impact on seafood safety, a topic falling under EU jurisdiction. Based on the previous North Sea Wrecks Project (Interreg NSR 2014-2020), we will conduct a gap analysis of EU legislation. This task will deliver a proposal for addicional legislation or policy measures on (marine) food safety in form of report.
- Define Intervention Alternatives & Processes / Define intervention alternatives to decide how to manage wrecks and munitions related risks: manage the site, blast in place or removal. Transnational exchange to organise resources, coordinate agents involved, define procedures for planning and implementing the intervention depending on the size of area, number of explosives or time between blast and sampling.
- Integrate Food Chain Evaluation into WRECKNS / Research activities including measuring and assessing the potential transfer of toxic compunds from explosives (TNT, ADTNTs, mercury and other trace metals) to biota & through the food chain. Estimate consequences for human health. Coordinate with the EU Food Safety Agency (with support of the AB) and policy recommendations for the food safety standards (WP3). Integrate these findings into the WRECKNS risk assessment algorithm. Deliverable: New algorithms and software code.
- Intergovernmental Cooperation in the Framework of OSPAR / Provide support and input to the OSPAR EIHA Committee sub-working group, set up in March 2022 dealing with a revision to Recommendation 2010/20 on reporting of munitions, to address the scope of future OSPAR work on munitions and submit advise. A concertation with the OSPAR HASEC Hazardous Substances & Eutrophication Committee will be established as well. Implementing/ offering the software platform service (T2.3 and T2.4) to OSPAR committees and adopting Member States.
- Design & Prototype Semiautonomous Underwater Crawler / Experimental development of a prototype considering user requirements and specifications to adapt and equip an existing semiautonomous underwater crawler with functionalities for remote monitoring. This focusses on toxic components in the sediment, water column and samplers. As deliverable, an enhanced prototype will improve efficiency and safety of monitoring and remediation activities beyond the state-of-the-art.
- Software upgrade: user interface / Experimental software upgrade activities to offer WRECKNS tool as a web service platform: gathering user requirements, design enhanced functionalities to cover monitoring & remediation options based on technical feasibility, minimal impact, and costs. Programming/coding software, test usability and functionalities in user experience panels, beta testing and deployment. Deliverable: New Platform with user interface.
- Citizen Science and Hybrid Forums / Citizen Science and Hybrid Forums as new forms of public engagement and transnational dialogue in a sensitive topic could cause social alarm. Implementation of a citizen science activity involving civil society in the problem of UXO remediation (with stakeholders from museums, national parks, and /or NGO) on 2 exemplary North Sea Sites. Web based Mapping + Cartography for the Citizen Science Project (also as a template for further use). As deliverable, 2 external events will be organised.
- Piloting Monitoring Techniques / Different monitoring techniques (passive samplers, bacterial analyses, remote crawler with new sensors and sampling equipment) will be tested for managing hotspot areas, comparing background toxic concentrations, results from (buried) ammunition dumping sites, results from sampling shortly before and after UXO detonation with concentrations observed near wrecks and munitions. Thanks to the incorporation of the NO UiT new techniques will be piloted in a new location: like the sensor experimentally developed in Activity 8, to be piloted in a real environment integrating it with a compact hyperspectral imager based on scanning Fabry-Pérot interferometer (SFPI) technology.
- Data Security, Sovereignty and Sharing Functionalities / Implementing the technical framework & user management to ensure highest level of data security & sovereignty, while at the same time able to make data available to selected users and institutions involved in governmental affairs and decision making. Target groups will be OSPAR and national governmental bodies as addressed in T3.2 and T3.4. Deliverable: New software code.
- MFSD: Mainstream project results into national monitoring obligations / Integration of follow-up of TNT in national monitoring programmes. In this context the consortium will conceptualise and conduct 3 professional courses for policy makers and administrations involved in MSFD processes. These policy makers will be trained in the risk assessment software tool WRECKNS (Platform service) .
- Piloting Remediation Techniques / In the event real remediation action is recommended and feasible at the spot, remediation techniques (removal, blast in place low /high order detonation, bubble curtains, AUV…) will be piloted and transnationally assessed in terms of efficiency & environmental impact (sound, chemical compounds...) and safety consequences for divers participating in the operation. In case remediation action is not possible for safety reasons a theoretical approach will be described.
- Durability of the platform service / Define a Busines Model using the Canvas methodology for exploiting the software as a service (SaaS) platform: Value proposition, customer segments accross the NSR, key resources (including IPR) and activities, cost structure, and revenues. Deliverable: Report describing the business model selected and the corresponding detailed Business Model Canvas.
- Communication materials / Prepare dissemination materials, like for example, video, posters, brochures, leaflets, web content, social media and other promotional material for addressing audience groups: Food Safety Agencies (EU like European Food Safety Agency and national) Marine Environmental Organizations (International like OSPAR, national, regional) Coastal Management Administrations Defence Agencies Hydrographic agencies
- Impact Evaluation / Piloted techniques for managing, monitoring and remediation the risks will be assessed under economic, operational, and environmental perspectives according to partners experience & resources during the pilot actions. Criteria applied may be risk neutralizing/ mitigation degree, noise reduction, ensuring labour safety during the intervention, spread of toxic compounds...).
- Launch the Platform Service / Launch the Platform service for target groups like OSPAR and subsequent Member States: To enable data sharing between organizations, a user management system needs to be created to allow data owners to manage own data giving access to other users (such as OSPAR & other stakeholders) while respecting data soverreignty and data security. Deliverable: Data Management system running and operational.
- Communication: Change of Behaviour Workshops / Organise 2 motivation workshops for promoting the change of behaviour of public authorities, including Ministries of Defence, coastal management administrations in charge of monitoring and remediation risks related to UXO and Wrecks. During the workshops, main findings and recommendations for the adoption of the most efficient and effective solutions demonstrated in WP1 and implementing the risk intervention strategy based on the risk assessment tool WRECKNS developed in WP2.
- Communication / Preparation and dissemination of promotional materials to commercialise the platfrom as a service: Deliverables will be a landing page, presence at 2 marine sector trade fairs, participation at 8 promotional visits with potential customers and authorities and 1 promotion campaign of the intervention strategy.
- Communication / Prepare, publish and disseminate 2 scientific papers with results obtained during the 3 Case Studies, and Pilot Actions. Organise 1 external consultation workshop with stakeholders (EFSA, OSPAR, CICHD) and other members of the Advisory Board (AB) and NSR authorities to present results obtained during the case studies and comparison of techniques for provoking a change of behaviour towards the use of the most efficient ones. Present preliminary results from new UiT activities at the at Arctic Frontiers Conference 2026 and definitive results at the EGU General Assembly 2027 Vienna Austria.
- Review of Ownership and Remediation Regulations / Using official Norwegian regulations and state documents from 1940 to 2020, this activity will establish a timeline detailing the ownership and legal status of four selected shipwrecks: the Norwegian coastal defence ships Norge and Eidsvold, the German cruiser Blücher, and the battleship Tirpitz. The objective is to clarify the administrative and legal responsibilities for these wrecks and their remediation, and to examine their historical recognition as war graves. German official documentation about the shipwrecks in Norway and their remediation will contribute to contrast and supplement the picture in Norway. This foundational work will serve as a reference point for comparing how responsibility is depicted in media narratives (Activity 9), which may reflect more emotionally driven interpretations. An outcome of this will be a media coverage map, laying the groundwork for further research in activities 8 through 10. Deliverable: Data collection activity from 4 main selected Shipwrecks.
- 8 Mapping Media Coverage of Shipwreck Remediation / This task brings a media-studies and cultural-history lens to REMARCO by charting how shipwreck remediation has appeared in daily media from 1940 to 2020. Leveraging Norway’s extensive media digitization, the project will systematically map coverage of the selected wrecks using the Norwegian National Library’s archives—spanning newspapers, magazines, and newsreels. Automated tools and AI-assisted methods may be deployed to streamline data collection and categorization. Complementary German sources—such as the Bundesarchiv and the German National Library—will enrich the corpus, while the Norwegian Defence Museum will contribute its expertise in advanced archival retrieval and metadata structuring. Together, these resources will reveal the scope, evolution, and public framing of shipwreck remediation discourse over eight decades. Deliverable: Map of media coverage
- 9 Media Analysis: Responsibility and Memory Culture / Building on Activities 7 and 8, this task examines how media narratives assign responsibility for World War II shipwreck remediation and how they reflect broader memory cultures in Norway and Germany. It will compare coverage of wrecks sunk by German and British forces to reveal transnational perspectives and contrast national storytelling around remediation. Media portrayals will be critically juxtaposed with official records and historical context to uncover discrepancies or emotive framing. These insights will be grounded by linking them to relevant artefacts in the Norwegian Naval Museum collection, adding a tangible dimension to the analysis. Deliverables include: A paper for Media, Culture & Society detailing the comparative media analysis. A collaborative paper with the German Maritime Museum exploring anthropological dimensions of contemporary remediation narratives. These findings will inform REMARCO’s communication strategies and deepen public understanding of shipwreck remediation.
- 10 Community Involvement and Co-Creation of Digital Content / An important extension of the project involves engaging students from a local high school specializing in media and communication. A workshop will be organized where preliminary findings from activities 7, 8 and 9 are presented and discussed. Student interpretations will contribute to the ongoing analysis and help shape the project’s conclusions.During the workshop, students will co-create communication materials about shipwreck remediation. These materials will form the basis for new outreach strategies aimed at engaging broader and more diverse audiences.The process, findings, and outcomes of the workshop will be documented and assessed in a report to be published in the Norwegian journal Museum. Deliverable: Report documenting the lessons learnt from the workshop.
- Evaluation of MesoSens for Explosive Detection / The project will bring MesoSens—a nanostructured, mesoporous sensing layer—to life in the lab (Oct 25- Sept26). These chips, with their high‑surface‑area nanoporous matrix, will be rigorously tested for two breakthroughs: first, the ability to capture and preserve microliter‑scale liquid samples at ambient temperature, thanks to the nanoconfinement effect; and second, the optical‑spectroscopy performance for spotting trace explosives. In controlled experiments, we’ll fine‑tune analyte uptake, storage conditions, and stability over varying times and temperatures. The Project will then benchmark detection limits against standard explosive mixtures (TNT, DNT, PAHs), mapping out the key absorption bands. By Arctic Frontiers 2026, we aim to unveil preliminary new experimental development results—complete with a fully calibrated MesoSens sensor—and share our findings with both academia and defence and environmental agencies, demonstrating a label‑free, on‑site analysis platform. Deliverable: Experimental development of a mesoporous optical sensor
- 9 Analyse Identification and Mapping Using MesoSens / Building on our lab successes, the second phase will take MesoSens into the field—starting with real samples from the Tirpitz wreck site. By covering the full 100 mm wafer, we’ll create high‑resolution spatial maps of contaminant distributions. To unlock true portability, we’ll integrate a compact scanning‑Fabry–Pérot hyperspectral imager, boasting ~30 cm⁻¹ resolution—enough to distinguish nitro‑group and aromatic‑ring signatures. Partnering with industry, we’ll couple the sensor and imager, capture spectral datasets, and compare them to our lab benchmarks. Our goal: a working prototype by EGU 2027 in Vienna, showcasing a new field‑deployable system that empowers researchers, geologists, and environmental scientists to perform on‑site chemical analyses like never before. Deliverable: Prototype of portable detection system integrating MesoSens chip and hyperspectral imager
Contribution to wider strategies and policies:
- In multiple ways, we are adressing the MSFD: special Task 3.4 mainstreaming WP results into Member States marine policies in a variety of tasks we are establishing connections via dedicated Advisory Board members from BE, NL, DE, SE (see list in the Annex)
- There is an indirect, but however clear contribution to reducing climate – sensible emissions: The investigation into low-order blasting could result in remediation techniques reducing explosive emissions. Safer maritime areas are one factor contributing to safer and more affordable offshore energy.
- The interactive and user-centred front ends of the Risk Assessment and the modern database schemes contribute significantly to a sustainable access to and integration to national and pan-European maritime digital safety services.
- The focus on involving and impacting on SMEs in UXO remediation broadens their commercial perspective. Especially in the current crisis, safer and ensured maritime offshore energy is a cornerstone for durable energy supply for industry.
- Limited contributions to circular economy issues, as recycling of UXO components needs to be studied in more detail. However, removal from the sea floor is a first step in this way.
- The project results are a significant contribution to a healthy environment, better ecological livelihoods, as REMARCO works on the development of new crisis management tools to increase places’ safety and resilience (see fig 54 of TA2030).
- Contributing to the IMP by ensuring fundaments of blue energy sites and corridors, developing marine data and knowledge services, as explained above to Maritime spatial planning, tools for Integrated maritime surveillance (here: WRECKNS), and Sea basin strategies with intense cooperation with OSPAR. We share cross-benefit schemes with JPI Oceans projects on UXO.
- REMARCO contributes with the research data and the risk assessment tool to in particular these two aspects of sustainable maritime mobility: 045. to “make European maritime areas sustainable, smart and resilient.” 101. “enable safe, secure and efficient maritime transport with lower costs […] Maritime safety and smart and sustainable shipping in EU waters.”
- It is known that TNT and other UXO components are highly toxic and may pose a serious threat to the marine food chain and hence to the humans as end consumer. Research as foreseen in Work Packages 1 and 2 and 4 with the aim to ensure reduced impact on marine biota contributes to a more sustainable fauna and flora in the North Sea.
- REMARCO contributes to several targets to be achieved by 2030: protect and restore (via piloting of remediation techniques) conserve coastal and marine areas (via a tested monitoring approach) increase the economic benefits from sustainable use of marine resources (by providing tools and policy recommendations), and by “applying “two other “goals”, notably to - increase scientific knowledge, research, and technology for ocean health; and - to implement and enforce international sea law.
Programme Common Output Indicator:
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RCO 084 - Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects, Measurement unit:
-
RCO 083 - Strategies and action plans jointly developed, Measurement unit:
Delivered output indicator(s):
- (RCO83) Strategies and action plans jointly developed: 256
- (RCO84) Pilot actions developed jointly and implemented in projects: 756
Programme Common Result Indicator:
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RCR 104 - Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations, Measurement unit:
-
RCR 079 - Joint strategies and action plans taken up by organisations, Measurement unit:
Delivered result indicator(s):
- (RCR79) Joint strategies and action plans taken up by organisations: 3
- (RCR104) Solutions taken up or up-scaled by organisations: 13
