Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Aug 7

Serbia Removes First Nazi-Era Danube Wreck in €23 Million Salvage as Heat Exposes More Hulls

Updated

Updated · The New York Times · Aug 7

Serbia Removes First Nazi-Era Danube Wreck in €23 Million Salvage as Heat Exposes More Hulls

Q: What hidden WWII explosives might detonate as Serbia clears the drought-stricken Danube of sunken Nazi warships?

The main danger is not a single identified “time bomb,” but old onboard munitions that may still be inside the wrecks—shells, depth charges, mines, torpedoes, grenades and other explosives left from the German fleet scuttled near Prahovo in 1944. Reporting on the Danube cleanup says some of the vessels were sunk while still carrying weapons, which is why many wrecks were left in place for decades. Historians estimate that up to 200 German warships, barges and support vessels were scuttled there to block the Soviet advance. Officials and local accounts have repeatedly warned that some hulks may still be laden with explosives, complicating salvage and requiring specialist removal work. The risk comes from disturbing unstable wartime ordnance after 80 years underwater. Even corroded explosives can remain dangerous; cutting into hulls, shifting sediment, lifting wreck sections or moving ammunition can trigger blasts. Low water has made the ships easier to reach, but it also increases the chance of accidental contact during navigation and recovery. That is why Serbia’s operation is being treated as both a navigation project and an explosives-safety mission. The 23 million euro effort, backed by earlier cleanup planning, is aimed at clearing the channel while dealing carefully with any remaining munitions rather than simply hauling the wrecks out wholesale.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 7

Thursday marked the first removal of a sunken World War II German vessel from the Danube near Prahovo, launching a long-delayed Serbian salvage effort.
Extreme heat has driven the river unusually low, exposing at least a dozen wrecks this summer and forcing captains to navigate around new hazards.
More than 200 German ships were deliberately sunk there near the end of World War II to slow advancing Soviet forces; one or two usually surface each summer.
Serbia began the recovery project in 2020 and said at the time it could cost €23 million, underscoring how intensifying European heat waves are turning old wartime debris into a modern shipping problem.