August 19, 12 warships left Klaipėda Seaport to join in multinational mine countermeasures and Historic Ordnance Disposal (HOD) operation OPEN SPIRIT 2013 in the Baltic Sea. Four EOD diving teams also took up their tasks in the operation area on the same day. OPEN SPIRIT 2013 will involve over 500 troops representing 10 countries.
From August 21 two more vessels delegated by Lithuanian civilian organisations, hydrographic surveying vessel "Varūna" of the Lithuanian Maritime Safety Administration (LMSA) and scientific research and student teaching sailing boat "Brabander" of Klaipėda University, will also be a part of the operation.
Operation areas of OPEN SPIRIT 2013 are arranged in the exclusive economic zone and territorial waters of the Republic of Lithuania in the Baltic Sea on the basis of archival material that verified mines had been laid in the particular locations of the Baltic Sea during the First World War and World War II, as well as on the basis of information from the International Baltic Seafloor Database. The total of 145 square kilometres of sea territory has been surveyed so far during such exercises.
The multinational mine countermeasures operation OPEN SPIRIT is continued Baltic States' efforts to join capabilities with partners from foreign countries aiming at clearing the Baltic seafloor from naval mines and explosive ordnance remaining since WWI, WWII and postwar which impede safety of navigation, fishing and other economic activities at sea. Iterations of the OPEN SPIRIT series are held annually in one of the Baltic States.
The estimated 15 naval mine fields accommodating over 1.6 thousand naval mines were positioned in the Lithuanian territorial waters and exclusive economic zone during WWI and WWII.
Since 1997 there have been 10 large-scale multinational operations completed in Lithuania's waters resulting in detection and neutralisation of 150 naval mines and items of other explosive ordnance. Last mine clearance operation of such scale took place in Lithuania's territorial waters in 2010.
POC: CIMIC Representative of the Lithuanian Navy Lt (N) Antanas Brencius, office phone 00370 46 391 207, cell phone 00370 698 18 196, email: antanas.brencius@mil.lt
Photo by Sgt Audrius Vitkauskas.
