Poland’s gas transmission network operator GAZ-SYSTEM provided on Friday (12 April) an update on an examination of the area for the planned LNG terminal in the Bay of Gdańsk and the undersea gas pipeline connecting the terminal with land.
Currently, the Polish Navy is carrying out the last stage of activities consisting of neutralising the detected hazardous materials.
The examination of the bottom of Gdańsk Bay began in the autumn of 2023. It involved the search by a research vessel along the route of the underwater gas pipeline and at the location of the quay for FSRU for metal ferromagnetic objects. Based on the results of these works, a list of potentially hazardous materials was created – UXOs (Unexploded Ordnances), for example, unexploded ordnance, duds, or deposited chemical substances that need to be removed. The surveyed area was also checked for the presence of valuable archaeological artefacts.
“In the process of preparing the marine part of the FSRU project, we pay special attention to safety. We cooperate on an ongoing basis with the Polish Navy, the Maritime Office in Gdynia and the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk,” said Sławomir Hinc, President of GAZ-SYSTEM. Thanks to the coordination of activities and the combination of experience and specialist knowledge of all entities, we will preserve the valuable monuments that hide the waters of the Bay and ensure uninterrupted implementation of construction works in the future.
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The search of objects using a ship equipped with specialist sonars and other devices enabling the detection of all anomalies constituted the first stage of the actions. In the second stage, after preparing the list of objects for verification, underwater work began to verify the objects on the list by experienced divers at the bottom of the bay. Finally, the Polish Navy intervened to neutralise dangerous objects.
Archaeological objects were also located during the examination of the bottom of the bay. One of them is a 12-metre shipwreck lying on the route of the investment. A wooden capstan (used to hoist lines onto the deck) and ship anchors were also detected.