A €28 million cleanup project financed by European and Mauritanian partners has successfully removed 57 rusted shipwrecks from the bay of Nouadhibou in Mauritania, according to a report by duurzaamnieuws.nl. The abandoned vessels, weighing between 200 and 1,200 tons, accumulated in the area since the 1980s, creating severe hazards for navigation and leaking oil, paint, and rust into the marine environment.
Mammoet Salvage dismantles 60 high priority wrecks
Dutch salvage firm Mammoet Salvage received the contract to prioritize and dismantle 60 high-priority wreck structures in the bay. To execute the heavy engineering work, the company deployed three Hitachi ZX870-3 heavy machines capable of cutting through thick, decades-old steel. The removal of the 57 vessels proceeded at a pace faster than initially anticipated by project planners. However, an exact count of the remaining wrecks in the broader bay area remains unconfirmed because the operation focused specifically on a selected group of high-priority obstacles rather than the entire fleet of abandoned vessels.
Ship graveyards obstruct shipping lanes and pollute water
For decades, the hundreds of stranded hulls lining the coast roughly seven miles south of Nouadhibou constituted one of the largest ship graveyards in the world. The massive metal structures obstruct commercial and local shipping lanes, increasing the risk of collisions in the shallow waters. Decomposing steel hulls continuously release rust, paint fragments, and residual oil into the marine ecosystem, threatening local fish populations and sea life. While the recent European-backed intervention removed 57 prominent obstacles, the remaining unrecovered wrecks continue to pose ongoing ecological and maritime safety risks.
Economic Impact of Scrap Metal Recycling
The dismantling process yields substantial quantities of reusable scrap metal, turning the hazardous debris into a valuable economic resource. Local residents and businesses in Nouadhibou actively participate in the trade and processing of the recovered iron. This secondary market provides crucial local employment and income streams tied directly to the salvage operations. Travel platforms such as Atlas Obscura currently list the site as permanently closed to visitors, reflecting restricted public access rather than a complete absence of maritime hazards in the water.
How many shipwrecks were in the bay?
How many total shipwrecks were originally in the bay of Nouadhibou?
The accumulation peaked during the 1980s when dozens of uncollected vessels were abandoned in the coastal waters. While individual wrecks weigh between 200 and 1,200 tons, an exact total count of all historical vessels remains unverified due to the sheer scale and extended timeline of the dumping.
Who funded and executed the recent Nouadhibou shipwreck removal project?
The €28 million cleanup initiative was jointly financed by European and Mauritanian partners. The execution of the heavy salvage and cutting work was awarded to Dutch salvage company Mammoet Salvage.
Are all the shipwrecks in the Mauritanian bay now completely gone?
No, the recent project targeted a specific subset of 60 high-priority wreck structures, successfully removing 57 of them. A comprehensive count of all remaining vessels in the bay has not been published, and officials have not announced a subsequent phase of the cleanup.
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