Bomb disposal experts from the Royal Navy have blown up a torpedo found on a seabed at Scapa Flow.
The 48-hour operation was a “complicated” one for the team, due to the torpedo’s proximity to an oil pipeline.
Members of the Diving and Threat Exploitation Group travelled to Orkney on Friday after the MV Athena identified the object between Flotta and South Ronaldsay.
Coastguard teams were alerted and set up a 328ft (100 metre) exclusion zone around the location before a multi-phased operation was carried out.
“It was a challenging task,” said Roy Edwards, Charlie Squadron‘s chief petty officer. “The suspected ordnance was located 210 metres (688ft) from an oil pipeline and the weather was also an issue with a sea state 2-3 and wind gusting at 20 knots.
“The torpedo was very degraded, and we needed to move it to a safe location, away from the pipeline, before it could be safely disposed of. It was a delicate job.”
A controlled explosion
The Explosive Ordnance Disposal team, which has attended three tasks in Orkney this year, first had to dive, locate and mark the torpedo.
They then attached straps and used underwater lifting equipment to bring it to the water’s surface.
The torpedo had to be towed to a safe location, away from cable, pipelines and fish farms, so the divers could carry out a controlled explosion. This was completed just after 5pm on Sunday evening.
Teams believe the torpedo is a Mark VIII, which could date back to the 1920s, but it could not be definitively identified due to its poor condition.
Conversation