An explosives-filled Nazi warship, which was sunk in 1944, was recovered from watery depths near the Serbian coast last week, according to social media posts by Serbian government officials from last week.
The ship, which was sunk in Danube, was one of 200 intentionally wrecked by German naval forces.
Rear Admiral, Paul-Willy Zieb ordered the ship’s disposal to avoid it being taken by the fast-approaching Russian army.
ПОЧЕЛО ВАЂЕЊЕ ПОТОПЉЕНЕ НАЦИСТИЧКЕ ФЛОТЕ ИЗ ДУНАВАЈуче смо из Дунава, код Прахова, извукли први нацистички речни војни брод који је припадао дунавској и црноморској флоти Кригсмарине. У наредним месецима извадићемо 21 брод који се већ осамдесет година налазе на дну Дунава на… pic.twitter.com/AidMr47hdJ
— Горан Весић (@sicveO11) August 7, 2024
Serbia's Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Goran Vesić wrote on X, formerly Twitter, last week "Yesterday, we pulled out of the Danube, near Prahov, the first Nazi river warship that belonged to the Danube and Black Sea fleets of the Kriegsmarine.
"In the coming months, we will remove 21 ships that have been at the bottom of the Danube on the waterway through Serbia for eighty years. In the next phase, about eighty ships will be removed.
"By the way, the Nazis sank a total of about 200 ships in 1944 in order to stop the penetration of the Soviet river fleet into the Danube.
"Every ship that is taken out undergoes a detailed inspection with the dismantling of the explosive devices that remained in them. It lasts ten days. The pictures of the first ship show how many explosive devices are left on the ships. All this was in the Danube for eight decades.
"The Red Army removed some of the ships in order to free the waterway at the end of 1944, and then in the spring of 1945 in order to make certain ships fit for navigation in their river flotilla, which they needed to end the war. Since then, for almost eight decades, nothing has been done about taking out the German Nazi river fleet.
— Горан Весић (@sicveO11) August 7, 2024
"When this process is completed, we will allow the public to see part of the sunken Nazi fleet, which has been making navigation on this part of the Danube difficult for eight decades."
Vessels to be raised.
Serbian authorities have reportedly only just begun removing the ships from the depths.
The sunken wreck’s presence has reportedly caused havoc for functioning ships and locals have worried about their environmental impacts.
While the first of the ships was remeoved on August 5, plans are underway to remove 21 more vessels. Serbian Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesic reportedly said a follow up stage would see 80 more ships raised.
Vesic explained, “Every ship that is taken out goes through a thorough inspection with the dismantling of the explosives left inside them. When this process is completed, we will allow the public to see a part of the sunken Nazi fleet that has been making navigation difficult on this part of the Danube for eight decades.”