From Seafloor to Screen: One Year of Data Coming Together in BALTWRECK
Over the past year, the BALTWRECK project – Preventing massive marine waters chemical pollution from the leaking wrecks and munition/weapon dumps in the South Baltic – has taken an important step forward in turning extensive fieldwork into an accessible and usable knowledge base. A major focus of recent activities has been the systematic collection, compilation, and organization of data related to selected wrecks in the South Baltic Sea.
During dedicated research cruises in August and September 2025, led by scientists from the University of Gdańsk (UG), a wide range of complementary datasets was gathered at sea. These cruises targeted specific wreck sites and applied multiple observation and sampling techniques to capture a detailed picture of conditions around the wrecks. The collected material includes hydroacoustic survey data, such as multibeam echosounder (MBES) and acoustic camera measurements, as well as 4K video footage acquired with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). In addition, sediment and water samples were taken from the vicinity of the wrecks, adding an essential environmental component to the data.
As the volume and diversity of project data have grown, equal attention has been given to how these datasets are managed and made available within the project. north.io’s Ocean Data Platform, TrueOcean, is being used as a central web-based platform for compiling the BALTWRECK-related data. TrueOcean functions as a unified data management and dissemination hub, bringing together the different data types generated during the cruises in a single, coherent environment.
Having these datasets compiled on a shared platform allows project partners to systematically investigate the collected information and to view it in its broader spatial and thematic context. This consolidated overview supports ongoing analysis and provides a solid foundation for planning additional research expeditions and future survey activities. With the data now accessible through a web-based platform, BALTWRECK is well positioned to build on the intensive fieldwork of the past year and to continue its coordinated research efforts in the South Baltic Sea.
Management Board of the APC ERB
The first meeting of the Management Board of the Association of Polish Municipalities Euroregion Baltic this year is behind us Today, the first meeting of the Management Board of STG Euroregion Baltic in 2026 was held at the headquarters of our Association. During the meeting, we discussed key issues related to the functioning of the Baltic Euroregion EGTC, the financial situation, current and new projects, and plans for the coming months.
The most important topics included: the activities of the Baltic Euroregion EGTC, the current financial situation, ongoing and planned international projects, cooperation within national and international networks, directions for the further development of the Association.
The meeting was an opportunity for substantive discussion and setting priorities for the coming year. We have an intense period ahead of us, full of challenges and new initiatives.
Baltwreck - expedition UG Oceanograf
As part of the Baltwreck project, on 26 January 2026, the research vessel UG Oceanograf returned to the vicinity of the Stuttgart, a ship sunk in 1943, to continue work on the development of bioremediation technology for a seabed contaminated by fuel that had leaked from damaged tanks. The aim of this research expedition was to assess the effectiveness of the applied methods and the use of underwater drones in the study of shipwrecks and pollution. Despite difficult weather conditions and other challenges, the expedition was completed successfully, and analysis of the collected samples is ongoing.
Circular MuSe - Partner meeting | Day 2 in Copenhagen
Today was the second day of the Circular MuSe project partners' meeting in Copenhagen. Today's program focused mainly on educational and mentoring activities and planning the next stages of cooperation.
The sessions were devoted to the creation of coherent training programs tailored to the needs of local governments and institutions, as well as the preparation of tools to support the practical implementation of circular solutions.
Key areas included:
development of an educational and mentoring program
structure of training materials and target groups
organization and implementation of training activities
schedules and forms of cooperation
planning priorities and subsequent project tasks
On the second day, particular emphasis was placed on translating the project's objectives into specific actions that will be implemented in the coming months.
Circular MuSe partner meeting, day 1
Today, the Circular MuSe project partnership meeting began in Copenhagen. We have had our first intensive day full of substantive discussions, exchange of experiences, and joint planning of further activities.
Day 1 was devoted to: team integration and mutual updates on project activities summarizing achievements and progress in project implementation to date presentation and analysis of case studies on circular solutions in municipal services work on the structure of case study descriptions, categories, and keywords the launch of the first (beta) version of the Knowledge Hub platform planning further activities, the process of collecting and publishing content The opportunity for a direct exchange of experiences between the academic community, local governments, and project partners was particularly valuable.
The next sessions are tomorrow—we have more work ahead of us on developing tools and solutions that support the circular economy.
BaltWreck Online Meeting – Consequence Assessment
On January 20, an online meeting of the BaltWreck project partners was held, dedicated to the topic of Consequence Assessment.
The meeting discussed topics such as the methodological assumptions of the Consequence Assessment approach, the use of environmental and infrastructure data, preliminary results of work on the prototype, and possible directions for further development of the analytical tool.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the project partners to exchange experiences and comments, marking an important step in further work on assessing the potential impacts of impacts on the Baltic Sea environment.
