Disposing of WW2 bombs in PNG will be the focus of a multinational military campaign involving Australia.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has sent engineers and naval ships to help in the military operation, codenamed Render Safe.
Australian engineers will work alongside PNG, Canadian, French, Japanese, New Zealand, British and American personnel to safely dispose of thousands of bombs scattered in the Gazelle, Kokopo and Rabaul districts, the ADF says.
Running from June 1-20, the troops will focus on bombs and other munitions that were identified during previous missions as posing a potential risk to local villages.
Specialist disposal and medical personnel from the eight nations will work in combined teams to dispose of identified munitions, the ADF says.
DISPOSING OF WW2 THREATS
Australian Chief of Joint Operations Vice Admiral Justin Jones says the ADF has worked with Pacific countries for more than 20 years to defuse leftover munitions from the war.
“During these operations, we work side-by-side our regional partners and local authorities to conduct safe and deliberate identification and disposals of explosive ordnance removing the danger these pose to communities,” he says.
TUVALU MISSION FOR NAVY
Meanwhile, at the request of the Tuvalu government, Australian minehunters HMAS Yarra and Diamantina and support vessel ADV Reliant will be at the atoll nation from July 1-13 for a reconnaissance of Nanumea Lagoon.
During WW2, the lagoon served as a base and airfield for the US Navy as the Americans launched heavy aerial bombing campaigns; after the war, the airfield was abandoned with unexploded bombs and shells left behind, although NZ subsequently defused them.
Click here for more about the lagoon.
This mission will build on survey work carried out in 2022 and should help Tuvalu plan future disposal activities, the ADF says.
KIWIS DISPOSE OF BIG BOMBS
At the end of April, six bomb disposal officers from NZ flew to Bougainville to dispose of a 454kg WW2 bomb found at Aropa Airfield and a 226kg bomb found at Kieta Primary School.
An earlier reconnaissance trip found the bombs were too dangerous to move and had to be destroyed in-place, the NZ Defence Force says; sandbags were placed around the sites and large cordons set up beforehand.
NZ Defence Force Special Operations Component Commander Colonel Grant Scobie says disposing of munitions is “something we do regularly”.
“Our personnel have completed recent disposal operations in PNG, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Nauru,” he says.
The NZ team also spoke to villagers about how to safely mark and report unexploded munitions when they are found.
OTHER WW2 NEWS: Another RAAF aircraft found on mountain
