Europe’s monthslong drought has exposed the hulls of German ships sunk toward the end of WWII in the Danube River.
The 20 exposed hulls near the Serbian river port town of Prahovo are just a fraction of the hundreds of vessels from the German Black Sea Fleet scuttled in the Danube in 1944 in an effort to slow down the advancing Red Army, according to Reuters.
Though making for an interesting sight, the munitions that were left onboard the exposed ships when they were sunk pose a danger to local residents. The ships also pose an ecological danger.
Europe’s worst drought in years has pushed the mighty river Danube to one of its lowest levels in almost a century, exposing the hulks of dozens of explosives-laden German warships sunk during World War Two near Serbia’s river port town of Prahovo https://t.co/xsC35uLRTi 1/5 pic.twitter.com/2Lhsw4P5Dd
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 19, 2022
“The German flotilla has left behind a big ecological disaster that threatens us, people of Prahovo,” Velimir Trajilovic, a local who wrote a book on the sunken ships, told Reuters.
Though he didn’t specify what ecological danger the ships posed, German and Polish authorities have released warnings in the past about the gradual leaking of fuel still onboard WWII ships in the Black Sea, according to the First News.
‘The German flotilla has left behind a big ecological disaster that threatens us, people of Prahovo,’ said Velimir Trajilovic, a pensioner from Prahovo who wrote a book about the German ships.
Workers in the local fishing industry are also at risk, including from Romania 4/5 pic.twitter.com/brNIXS9w20
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 19, 2022
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In some areas around Prahovo, the navigable stretch of the river has been nearly cut in half from about 600 feet to 330. The Serbian government has turned to dredging in an effort to ensure the safety of traffic.
The Germans are known to have scuttled 220 vessels in total, according to the Serbian news outlet N1. Thirty ships were raised after the war, with the overwhelming majority going untouched. The ships varied widely in tonnage and roles; everything from submarine chasers to hospital ships are known to have been scuttled.
Disturbingly, locals allege that in desperation, the Nazis sunk hospital ships with patients still on board; as many as 2,000, by their estimates. “We saw people on board a hospital ship one night and the next morning the ship had been sunk,” Vojislav Lapadatavic, a local who had worked in the kitchens on the German ships, told the BBC.
Months of drought and record-high temperatures have snarled river traffic on vital arteries in other parts of Europe, including Germany, Italy and France.
In Serbia, the authorities have resorted to dredging to keep navigation lanes on the Danube open https://t.co/xsC35uLRTi 5/5 pic.twitter.com/ZBRjb6MbYn
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 19, 2022
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The last time the ships were exposed due to a low water level was in 2003. However, even in normal conditions, the ships pose a hazard to shipping. The Serbian government decided in 2020 to begin moves to raise 23 of the most environmentally hazardous vessels, an effort costing an estimated 22 million euros, according to the Serbian Ministry of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure. It estimates the project to be concluded by 2024.
