The mercury submarine U-864 off Fedje must be raised

The German submarine U-864 was sunk off Fedje in 1945 with 65 tonnes of mercury on board.
The submarine was found in 2003.

On 23 October 2003, the Norwegian Coastal Administration said that no mercury had been detected in U-864.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration: "There is no information in the wreck database that U-864 had mercury on board."

The Norwegian government wants to be the best at cleaning up the marine environment internationally, but at the same time they are sitting with an environmental bomb outside Fedje. A cover-up of U-864 is a complete derailment from this important work. The government refuses to see the long-term effects of the mercury pollution, and they seem to be more concerned with their own careers than the environment in the North Sea basin.

If Norway had been a member of the EU, the Fedjeubåten would have been raised a long time ago.

 

Uranium oxide in the cargo?
560 kg of uranium oxide was detected on a replacement submarine (U-234) for a sunken submarine (U-864?).

Is the Coastal Administration wrong again?
Kystverket's report 2010: "The cargo list for U-234 contained a record of uranium oxide, but nothing in the cargo order from U-864 describes uranium oxide and there are also no official documents confirming that U-234 was a replacement submarine for U-864. U-234 had 560 kg of uranium oxide on board."

Can we be sure that there is no uranium oxide in U-864?
1982 UPI: T. Kawashima Japanese colonel in charge of Japan's nuclear program stated that a German submarine with 2 tons of uranium oxide was sunk by the Allies in 1945. See presentation uranium oxide here: Uranium oxide in U-864

U-864 must be raised because:
The long-term effects of 65 tonnes of metallic mercury are catastrophic.
Mercury is converted to Methylmercury when it breaks down in the environment, and then migrates into the food chain. Shellfish and fish will store the environmental toxins over time, which will intensify higher up the food chain. Methylmercury has no lower limit for what is harmful in the body. Close to 100% of the methylmercury in food is absorbed into the body and excreted very slowly (half-life approx. 70 days). Mercury in blood has a short half-life of approximately 2 months, while mercury in certain parts of the brain such as the pituitary gland has a half-life of 15-25 years.

Covering no guarantee
Covering the wreck will be no guarantee against leakage over a long period.
For example, displacements in the sea bed, caused by earthquakes and landslides etc. lead to a breach of the cover.
A concrete "sarcophagus" will not have "eternal" duration, and will weather over time, and then release the environmental toxin.

If the uranium oxide is stored in the submarine, there will also be a risk of leakage over time.
In this case, the uranium oxide is stored in lead containers. This may explain why radioactivity cannot be measured from the boat per Today. Uranium oxide has a half-life of 700 million years.

Lifting is the best solution
U-864 can be raised with a crane and possibly buoyancy technology. Ref: K-141 Kursk (18100) tons was raised from 108 meters.
U-864 lies at 150 m. (Type IXD-2, total 1804 tons-or 1/10 of Kursk)
The Norwegian Coastal Agency has stated early on (2003) that the hull parts are in good condition. The metal in the hull is extremely solid.
The seabed around the two wreck parts must be dredged/sludged after raising, and the material must be cleaned and transported to a suitable landfill to remove existing mercury in the sediments. The risk of losing a few bottles at the bottom is less harmful to the environment than if everything were left lying around. The bottom can then be covered with clean masses.

Alternatively, leave the submarine and, using a mini submarine and tools, pick out the mercury bottles.

Conclusion:
Lifting U-864 is the only solution to safeguard the environment and future generations against the leakage of a large mercury discharge that will remain in the environment for hundreds of years and pollute the Norwegian coast. One submarine (U-534 – IXC-40 1545 tons) was raised off Denmark without problems in 1993.

 

Sign our campaign:

 

Lifting is possible, see videos below:

Related posts

en_USEnglish