Marine Conservation Projects

We fight against different types of pollution, but our core competence is certainly the localisation, identification and decontamination of dangerous shipwrecks. The way to a decontaminated shipwreck often starts with the study of documents in a naval museum, goes through the localisation and the identification of the wreck, the determination of its owners, negotiations about the rights and finally the installation as a diving site.

Wreck decontamination

-search for, identify and defuse potentially dangerous shipwrecks

Our focus is on wrecks in the epipelagic zone (‑200m). During a preliminary search we try to narrow down their positions as precisely as possible. The search area thus defined is analysed step by step with acoustic locatisation. For this purpose, we tow side-scan sonars behind our ships, which – using linked GPS positioning – produce extremely high-resolution maps of the sea floor. Under good conditions we can search an area of one square kilometre per hour for wrecks. If we find something “suspicious” we send a diving robot also called ROUV (remotely operated underwater vehicle) down. If a find is confirmed, we try to identify the wreck. This is usually easiest if you dive it directly. Depending on the depth this can be done with air and open circuit or with mixed gas in a closed circuit rebreather (see: Technical Research Diving). Once a wreck has been identified, the rights must be negotiated with the owners. Until then it is generally not allowed to enter the wreck – at least not officially.

Of course it is also necessary to keep the position absolutely a secret in order not to endanger our negotiating position. However, the vast majority of wrecks from the world wars do not contain gold or other treasures, but mainly oil, ammunition and scrap metal. Therefore, in general, we do not expect an over-interest in the ownership rights of the flag states (because this would mean that they would recognise their responsibility for the toxins). However, there are materials on many wrecks which at first glance do not look precious, but which are nevertheless quite valuable and can thus also contribute to covering the decontamination costs, keyword: low-background steel / lead.

However, before wrecks can be searched for at all, research vessels have to be built, exploration and diving equipment has to be purchased, and crew members have to undergo extensive training for their future special missions.

When a research vessel finally sets sail, running costs have to be covered such as maintenance and repairs, harbour fees, insurance, consumables, diving gases and, above all, the crew must be able to earn a living. To be able to finance all this, it is necessary to commercialise one aspect of shipwrecks, namely the diving and salvage rights. Shipwrecks are a real magnet for sport and Tec divers, the more unexplored the more interesting. And it is precisely this fact that enables us to decontaminate them. There are more than 20 million recreational divers worldwide. They need to be reached, they need to be involved in the search, exploration and decontamination of the wrecks. The vast majority of them are not yet aware of the problem! To detect and identify 8,000 potentially dangerous shipwrecks – 1,500 of which are tankers – spread over an area of 360,570,000 km², many ambitious, professional crew members and effective tools are needed.

Coastal cleanups

-organise and support coastal clean-ups

During our dives we have always come across large amounts of other garbage on the seabed and of course on the coasts and beaches. So far, we have organised beach cleanups several times a year and also picked up ghost nets, car tires, kitchen stoves and sometimes even whole cars from the seabed. We are one of the few organisations that are able to reach depths beyond the usual recreational diving limit of 40-45 meters. So, with our experienced specialists, we can take care of the seabed up to a depth of more than 100 meters.