Interconnect Malta clears 117 wartime bombs from second Malta-Sicily cable route

Interconnect Malta has announced the successful completion of the identification and clearance campaign for the offshore route of the second Malta-Sicily Interconnector (IC2), clearing the way for marine cable laying to begin later this year.

Specialised offshore teams removed 117 unexploded wartime items, most of them dating back to the Second World War, from the 99-kilometre seabed corridor, in an operation carried out with remotely operated vehicles and in close coordination with the Armed Forces of Malta.

The second interconnector is a new 122-kilometre, 245kV cable with a capacity of 225MW, linking Maghtab in Malta with Ragusa in Sicily. It will run parallel to, but at a safe distance from, the existing cable link commissioned in 2015, and once complete it will double Malta's connectivity to the European energy grid.

During offshore work, 84 targets were confirmed as unexploded ordnance. As work continued, more buried unexploded items were found beneath previously detected objects, raising the final cleared number to 117 (Photo: ICM)

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli said the work marked an important step for the project.

"The successful completion of the identification and clearance campaign represents a major technical milestone for the second interconnector, a project which is central to Malta's vision to decarbonise the sector by 2050," said Dalli.

The campaign started after the Detailed Marine Route Survey found 707 magnetic targets along the 99-km cable route between Malta and Sicily. Desktop analysis narrowed this to 393 targets needing offshore inspection.

During offshore work, 84 targets were confirmed as unexploded ordnance. As work continued, more buried unexploded items were found beneath previously detected objects, raising the final cleared number to 117.

The ordnances varied in type, shape, and condition, from artillery shells and grenades to Hedgehog anti-submarine mortars. Due to the depths and dangers posed by unexploded ordnance, specialists employed remotely operated vehicles and offshore equipment for handling and clearance. The operations required careful planning, coordination with the Armed Forces of Malta, and strict safety adherence.

The campaign was carried out through Interconnect Malta's main contractor, Nexans, with the direct support of specialised subcontractors NextGeo and Sub Service S.r.l., which provided the vessels, equipment, marine expertise and explosive ordnance disposal specialists.

Sub Service S.r.l. will issue the relevant safety certifications now that the operation is complete.

Interconnect Malta chief executive Ismail D'Amato thanked those who supported the works. "The collaboration, technical assistance, and close coordination with the Armed Forces of Malta at each stage of the campaign were essential to ensuring that the works were carried out safely and in line with the required procedures," he said.