The Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining (RCUD) in Bijela, Montenegro, trains divers from around the world to properly handle and dismantle weapons located underwater. Since the organization’s creation in 2002, it has removed more than 120 tons of explosive material

Mijajlovic, Veselin

English

James Madison University

Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction Volume 17 Issue 2 The Journal of ERW and Mine Action Article 13 July 2013 The Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining Veselin Mijajlovic Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining Follow this and additional works at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal  Part of the Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation Mijajlovic, Veselin (2013) "The Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining," The Journal of ERW and Mine Action : Vol. 17 : Iss. 2 , Article 13. Available at: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol17/iss2/13 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for International Stabilization and Recovery at JMU Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction by an authorized editor of JMU Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact dc_admin@jmu.edu. 14         special report | the journal of ERW and mine action | winter  2013 | 17.1The Regional Center for Divers   Training and Underwater    DeminingThe Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining (RCUD) in Bijela, Mon-tenegro, trains divers from around the world to properly handle and dismantle weapons lo-cated underwater. Since the organization’s creation in 2002, it has removed more than 120 tons of explosive material.by Veselin Mijalović [ Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining ]Beginning during World War I (WWI) and con-tinuing after WWII, several world powers dumped excess chemical and conventional weap-ons in oceans around the world.1 Remaining from WWI and II and other conflicts, weapons and munitions, ei-ther dumped or abandoned, contaminate major oceans and waterways worldwide.2 In 1975 the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (also known as the London Conven-tion) officially banned the practice of dumping chemical weapons, and the London Protocol, a modification of the London Convention, updated the original convention and further prohibited maritime dumping in 1996.1,3Unlike action taken to end weapons dumping, no cur-rent international legislation prohibits using underwater mines. These mines are purposefully placed in oceans and rivers. They have been used as far back as during the American Revolutionary War to more recently, such as during the 1980–1988 Iraq-Iran conflict. Some under-water mines are designed to sink to the ocean floor and cause deep explosions, while others float at the water’s surface and are meant to explode close to ships.4  Mines, including underwater mines, are still used by nonstate actors, terrorist groups, and nations as they are easy to build, cost-effective to develop, hard to detect and ex-tremely effective. Even threats of underwater mines can lead to the closure of key waterways necessary for inter-national trade—such as the Strait of Hormuz or the Suez Canal among others.5Collectively, dumped weapons and munitions and underwater mines pose dangers to maritime industries—including fishing, ocean trade and transportation, tour-ism and water sports such as diving, oil drilling, and wind energy—as well as to ocean and underwater eco-systems around the globe. RCUDDue to the high number of underwater mines and dumped unexploded ordnance (UXO) from previous conflicts in and around Montenegro, the government of Montenegro established the Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining (RCUD) in 2002. The South-Eastern Europe Mine Action Coordination Council (SEEMACC) and the Office of Humanitarian Demining Program in the U.S. Department of State’s Bu-reau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/HDP) had essen-tial roles in the establishment of RCUD. PM/HDP and its successor organization, the Office of Weapons Remov-al and Abatement in the U.S. Department of State’s Bu-reau of Political-Military Affairs (PM/WRA), provided RCUD with millions of dollars of support in the form of equipment, underwater clearance tasks, and diver train-ing projects, through PM/WRA’s implementing partner, the Slovenian organization ITF Enhancing Human Secu-rity (ITF). ITF has been PM/WRA’s main implementing partner for conventional weapons destruction, including humanitarian demining, in the Balkans. RCUD is located in Montenegro in the town of Bijela on the coast of the Bay of Kotor. Montenegro’s own reve-nues, its state budget, and donations from other countries and organizations fund the organization. RCUD employs nine professional anti-mine divers and 11 logistical staff.1Mijajlovic: The Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater DeminingPublished by JMU Scholarly Commons, 201317.1 | winter 2013 | the journal of ERW and mine action | special report         15Operations To help to meet international needs related to un-derwater clearance, RCUD trains underwater deminers from around the world. Before RCUD’s establishment, no civilian institution of its kind existed in Europe that conducted humanitarian underwater demining and UXO removal while also training underwater deminers from other countries. RCUD coordinates, manages and unites the organizational, technical and professional lev-els of training affiliated with the implementation of un-derwater demining. This includes the critical practice of monitoring, supervising and protecting people and prop-erty from UXO during underwater demining operations. RCUD cooperates with state institutions, nongovern-mental organizations (NGO) and international institu-tions to ensure efficient and safe use of water resources. In addition to conducting underwater demining and training underwater demining divers, RCUD •	 Drafts plans for underwater research and for pro-tection of the population from underwater UXO•	 Participates in studies and mapping of underwater minefields•	 Coordinates institutions and individuals in South-east Europe and in other countries in humanitar-ian underwater deminingDiver and Deminer TrainingMembers of government disaster-relief agencies, as well as members of military and police units in coun-tries with UXO-contaminated waters, obtain training at RCUD. Training is performed according to the Standard Operating Procedures for Humanitarian Underwater Demining in South Eastern Europe adopted in 2004 by SEEMACC members. From 2002 to 2010, RCUD trained 48 professional divers and 12 supervisors from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montene-gro, Russia, Serbia and Slovenia for underwater demin-ing and other underwater work. Divers who attend the training must have the recom-mendations of their national armies or police. To attend A diver uses an underwater metal detector produced by Vallon to perform underwater mine reconnaissance of the seabed in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro.All photos courtesy of Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining.2Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction, Vol. 17, Iss. 2 [2013], Art. 13https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cisr-journal/vol17/iss2/1316         special report | the journal of ERW and mine action | winter  2013 | 17.1the four-week training, divers must have completed sepa-rate training in dealing with explosives on land, obtain a certificate logging a minimum of 300 hours of diving is-sued by state institutions, have a healthy medical certifi-cate and pass psychophysical testing.RCUD underwater demining divers learn and gain experience in•	 Understanding the effects of explosives and the chemical reactions of pyrotechnic mixtures in water•	 Handling ordnance and explosives in water•	 Assessing sabotage of underwater ordnance•	 Working with various ERW and mines and with specific fuze and mechanism activation•	 Detecting explosives through various methods and means •	 Learning different methods for deactivating or de-stroying explosives in water •	 Organizing and implementing intervention and rescue in the water•	 Communicating in the water through various methods such as telephone communication be-tween divers, between divers and the surface, or communication through a “lifeline rope” strung between the diver and the surface•	 Practicing first aid•	 Learning protective measures for handling UXO in water•	 Transporting UXO underwater, over water and on landRCUD’s Demining ProgressAs of 2013, RCUD has demined approximately 2 mil-lion sq m (494 ac) underwater and destroyed approxi-mately 120 tons of anti-ship mines and other explosive items. RCUD uses the latest technology for its underwater demining including the latest underwater mine detectors, side-scan sonar, georeferenced underwater equipment and remote-controlled parachutes/lifting bags for remov-ing ordnance from the ocean floor. RCUD also employs highly qualified international instructors and other ex-perts in the field of demining. In July and August 2012, three diving teams affiliated with RCUD removed 2.5 tons of explosives from the Zeta River in Montenegro. Among the explosives were grenades, cluster bombs and cannon balls.6 RCUD also removed an aircraft bomb from the Moraca river in the center of Podgorica, Montenegro in August 2012.7One of the most complex tasks in the field of demining is removing explosive devices under the sea’s surface. This type of underwater demining requires specially trained divers and equipment.Endnotes1. Ong, Caroline, Tamara Chapman, Raymond Zil-inskas, Benjamin Brodsky and Joshua Newman. “Chemical Weapons Munitions Dumped at Sea: An Interactive Map.” James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. http://cns.miis.edu/sto-ries/090806_cw_dumping.htm. Accessed 27 June 2013.  2. Long, Terrance P. “‘An International Overview of Sea Dumped Chemical Weapons: The Way For-ward.’” Conventional Weapons Convention Coali-tion. http://www.cwccoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/longpaper.pdf.  Accessed 27 June 2013.3. “London Convention and Protocol.” Interna-tional Maritime Organization. http://tinyurl.com/6wj2zo5. Accessed 25 February 2013.4.  Babb, Colin. “Underwater Mines.” National Ocean-Veselin Mijajlović is the director of the Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demin-ing and is responsible for training the professional scuba divers and underwater deminers. He received his master’s degree in physical education and sport from the Faculty of Sport and Tourism in Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia. He has more than 25 years of experience as a commander and diving instructor of special units of the Montenegrin army and po-lice, and in 2011, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense presented him with a plaque and letter of grati-tude for professional, successful and efficient un-derwater demining at the Chelopechene disaster site in Bulgaria, a massive terrestrial and underwa-ter UXO clearance project funded by PM/WRA.Veselin MijajlovićDirectorRegional Center for Divers Train-ing and Underwater DemingBijela, Herceg Novi / MontenegroTel: +382 31 683 447Fax: +382 31 683 375Email: rcud@t-com.meWebsite: http://rcudme.info3Mijajlovic: The Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater DeminingPublished by JMU Scholarly Commons, 2013

The Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining

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The Regional Center for Divers Training and Underwater Demining

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